For The Kids
by Miki Mechetta
Summary: (High School AU) When four friends are forced to ask the school loner, Jack Frost, to help them with this year's Christmas benefit none of them think he's going to agree, but he does. Things are about to get interesting and they're are going to discover that there's more to Jack than meets the eye.
1. The Invitation

Welcome! I hope you enjoy the following story. Just as a heads up, the characters of the Toothfairy and the Bunnymundy will be going by different names in this story to make it feel more "real." Tooth will be going by Ana and Bunnymundy will be going by his middle name, Aster. Now that that's out of the way, please read and enjoy!

* * *

"Jack Frost?" Aster stared at Mr. Moon incredulously as he tried to make sense of his teacher's strange demand.

The older man merely nodded, watching in silent amusement as his four favorite students processed his decree. Aster was clearly not happy. The seventeen year old had the same annoyed expression he adopted whenever Mr. Moon assigned an essay, but the others seemed to actually be considering the idea.

Ana and Nicholas were exchanging a series of thoughtful looks and slight nods while the group's smallest member, Sandy, calmly watched and waited for someone else to start talking.

Mr. Moon decided to be the one to break the silence. "Yes. I want you to invite him to help. I'm not approving your request until you do."

Aster clenched his fists, his tan face turning crimson in rage. "What? We don't need that bloody showoff's help!"

Mr. Moon crossed his arms and leaned back in his leather chair, treating the Australian teenager to an icy-calm gaze. "This is not a suggestion, Aster. If you four want me to approve your proposal then you're going to have to ask Mr. Frost for his help."

"After what he did last year? I had to repaint an entire backdrop in a single night!"

Mr. Moon's face remained calm. "The past is the past. We are talking about this year at the moment, Mr. Bunnymund."

Aster opened his mouth to argue, but Nick stepped forward and placed a large arm around his friend's shoulder. He wasn't wild about the idea, either, but if this was what it took… "Why not? Jack Frost may be a troublemaker, but I don't think he's a bad guy."

Ana nodded in agreement, a glimmer of interest clear in her violet eyes. "Yeah, besides: think of the kids, Aster!"

Sandy didn't say a word, but he was nodding as well.

The Australian let out a low growl, hardly believing how quickly the others were accepting this. "I _am_ thinking of the kids! In fact, I seem to be the only one who is! What does Jack Frost know about making kids happy?"

The words _"More than you could possibly imagine" _passed through Mr. Moon's mind, but he didn't say them aloud. Instead, he clapped his hands, regaining the bickering group's attention. "Enough. I will ask Mr. Frost to come by my office at lunchtime tomorrow, and I will expect at least one of you to be here to make the offer. I'd prefer it to be all of you, of course, but I'm not going to be that demanding. If not, your children's fair will just have to remain a dream and you can think of another idea for this year's benefit. Understood?"

The others looked at Aster, waiting to see what he'd say. Finally, the tall boy sighed and threw his hands into the air. "Fine! We can ask Jack to help!"

* * *

Jack sighed happily, closing his eyes and leaning back against the pale gray boulder he'd chosen for his resting spot. The afternoon sun filtered through leaves that were just starting to change from summer green to the gold and red of autumn, painting the white haired boy and his surroundings in an ever-changing tapestry of light and shadows. He could stay like this forever.

"Hello, Frost."

Or not.

Jack didn't even bother to look at the source of the voice; he already knew who it was.

"What do you want this time, Pitch?"

"Want? Why, Jack! Can't two old friends just happen to meet in a secluded woodland clearing and talk?"

Now Jack did look at the other boy. Pitch stood in the shade of a tall oak, his pale arms crossed across his black shirt, smirking. Jack's eyes narrowed. "After what happened last Christmas, we're not friends anymore, _Pitch_. Now, tell me what you want or get out of here."

"I just want to have a little fun, that's all. An opportunity to mess with our favorite group of "try-hards" has arisen and I've decided to give you a chance to redeem yourself."

Jack groaned and closed his eyes once more. "Not again, Pitch. Can't you just give up on this already?"

The smirk vanished and Pitch's face contorted into a mask of hatred. "No, and I don't get how you can just give up after one failure. A failure that you cause, I might add."

The pale-haired boy shrugged. "You went too far, I don't regret stopping you. Also, believe it or not, I'd rather avoid having that much detention ever again." _Or the guilty conscience._

Pitch remained silent and, for a moment, Jack thought the other boy had given up, but then he heard the crunch of leaves, and a shadow blocked out the warm light that had been playing across his face. Jack opened his eyes and met Pitch's fierce amber gaze with a frosty blue look of defiance.

"I'm not helping you. I don't care what those showoffs are doing 'for the good of the world' this time. Let them waste their time with projects and deadlines – what does it matter?"

The fire in Pitch's eyes only grew at these words. "That's exactly it, though. They're going to do something sweet and wonderful again and everyone's going to sing their praises. Does it matter that I'm smarter and more accomplished than the lot of them? No. I'm going to have to hear about how wonderful those idiots are for weeks! If we do something now – stop this next project before it even gets started – then we can avoid all that."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Just don't listen to what everyone else is saying for once. It's not as hard to do as you think it is. Trust me."

Pitch made a sound of exasperation and turned around, stalking away from the lazy teen, calling back over his shoulder, "Just think about it, Jack. Help me and I'll make it worth your while."

Jack ignored this, letting his eyes sink shut, happy to have his sunlight back, and dozed off.

* * *

"Aster, wait for a minute, please!" Ana ran after the angry teen as he stalked down the street towards their neighborhood. She was more than a little annoyed with how upset her friend was over this. Honestly, it wasn't like Jack would even accept their invitation. He'd been in the same class as them since freshman year and she'd yet to see him do something that involved extra work. Jack's approach to life seemed to revolve around goofing off as much as possible and doing as little work as he could manage.

Aster's pace slowed enough that she could catch up, but only just so. When she reached his side, Ana took his hand in hers, pulling him to a stop and making him turn to look at her. She smiled up at him, ignoring the anger in his bright green eyes. "Come on, this will all be over tomorrow. What are the chances Jack will actually help?"

The tall boy's frustration seemed to melt away at these words and he let out a deep laugh. "You know what, you are absolutely right! Jack's never going to say yes!"

* * *

Lunchtime was fast approaching, and Jack could feel fear twisting his stomach into knots. Mr. Moon had stopped him after English class that morning and asked if Jack would be willing to come and see him during lunch. Jack had said yes, because what else could you say when your favorite teacher asked to see you at lunch, but he had no idea what this was about. He hadn't done anything particularly mischievous as of late – it was only the third day of classes, for crying out loud!

With a clang that somehow sounded a lot more ominous than usual, the bell rang. Jack sighed, threw his supplies into his backpack, shoved his hands deep into his pockets, and headed down the hallways towards Mr. Moon's office. As he walked, he stared at the floor, debating what could possibly have led to this meeting. Maybe he'd done something last year that had only just been noticed? He didn't think that was it, but you never knew.

As he turned the corner that lead to Mr. Moon's office he could feel his heart beginning to race as he readied himself for the worst, but then he looked up and stopped in his tracks. Aster and his gang were standing outside of Mr. Moon's office door, waiting. He absentmindedly wondered if they were still mad about last year, but only Aster had seemed to still be holding a grudge last time he checked. Adopting a mischievous smirk and pushing away his fears Jack called out to them, "Sorry, guys, you'll have to come back later. Mr. Moon wanted to see me about something."

Aster grimaced, "We know."

This was new. "Oh, he already told you to come back later?"

Nick shook his head and smiled at the smaller teen. "No, we're the reason you're here."

Now Jack was really worried. "Listen, if this is about the play last year, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for things to go that far."

All four of the others winced at the memory of the previous year's near disaster. Ana spoke now, her voice a little strained. "No, this isn't about _that_. Come on, we'll talk inside."

She opened the door and the teens filed in, with a reluctant Jack bringing up the rear. Inside the office Mr. Moon was munching on a sandwich while reading a book. He looked up at the sound of the door and smiled at the quintet of students entering his office. "Ah, I see you all arrived at once. Excellent!"

While the other teens had moved into the room, Jack remained leaning against the doorframe, still grinning, but clearly ready to bolt as soon as he got the chance. Mr. Moon ignored this and smiled at the boy. "Jack, the others know why I've called you all here, but I'm afraid I didn't get to tell you this morning."

Jack shrugged, giving off the vibe that didn't really care why he was there. "Yeah, I'm a little curious what you need that involves both me and Crocodile Dundee over there."

Bright green eyes narrowed as Aster avoided the sudden urge to call Jack something nasty.

Mr. Moon ignored the mounting tension between the two boys. "Why don't I let your classmates explain?"

Jack felt immensely relieved. So, he wasn't in trouble. That was good. "Sure, why not?"

"Very well. Nicholas, I believe this was your idea. Why don't you explain it to Jack?"

The brown haired boy nodded, treating Jack to a massive grin before spreading his arms wide. "We wanted to ask for your help with this year's Christmas event."

Sandy and Ana grinned at him, waving their hands in a jazzy fashion, as if to say "ta-da." Aster simply rolled his eyes and leaned back against the window pane. It was clear this was not a unanimously-agreed-upon offer.

Jack stared at the group before giving Mr. Moon a disbelieving stare. "What?"

"As you know, Jack, Nicholas, Ana, Aster, and Sandy organize a yearly event for the less fortunate around Christmas, and they'd like your help this year."

Jack stared at them, wide-eyed for a moment before his expression hardened. He glared at Mr. Moon, thinking this had to be the man's idea of a joke. "Why would I want to do something like that? Waste my time planning some lame benefit so that a bunch of random adults will tell me how sweet I am and my college applications looks a bit more impressive? No thanks, that's not for me!"

As if suddenly realizing the nature of his statement, Jack looked back at the other teens and smiled sheepishly. "No offense."

Aster's face was once again a mask of rage, "How the bloody hell is that NOT offensive?"

Mr. Moon stepped in before a fight broke out, drawing their attention with a loud cough. "Jack, you haven't even heard what they're planning for this year."

"Why in the world do it…"

"They're throwing a children's fair for the children in Burgess."

Jack froze midsentence and stared at Mr. Moon. He took a shaky breath and whispered, "Burgess? Why not here?"

Ana spoke up now, curious as to why the mention of that town had effected the youth so badly. "Because we don't have many underprivileged families in town, but Burgess does!"

Aster nodded, already considering the matter closed. "Yeah, don't worry though, you don't have to 'waste your time' helping."

"I'll do it." Jack was staring at the floor, but they all heard what he said loud and clear.

The other four teens exchanged looks of surprise. Even Sandy looked interested at this latest development.

Mr. Moon beamed. "I knew you would."


	2. Harsh Words

Aster was staring at Jack. This was not how it was supposed to go. He wasn't supposed to say yes!

The object of his attention looked up from the ground, noticed the looks of shock, and smirked, "You heard me, Aster. I'll do it."

Aster's expression hardened. This was not happening. "This isn't a joke, Frost."

Jack stepped back, exaggeratedly placing a hand over his heart, and adopted a wounded expression. "A joke? Why, Aster, I'm merely accepting _your_ gracious offer."

"Then welcome to the team!" cried Nick, deciding to stop the fight before it started. The linebacker sized teen picked the pale boy off the floor and wrapped his scrawny frame in a massive hug.

Ana clapped. "We're going to have so much fun, Jack!"

Sandy grinned and nodded. Though the spiky-haired boy rarely spoke, it wasn't hard to read his emotions: he was pleased by Jack's acceptance.

Jack grinned back and laughed. "So, when do we start?"

Aster's frown deepened as Ana replied, "As soon as Mr. Moon finishes the paperwork!"

"Which I have." The teacher pulled open the top drawer of his desk and took out a photocopied sheet of paper, handing it to the startled blonde. "I had some free time yesterday evening so I gave Dr. Reiner a call. As long as you can find a spot to hold it, you're free to begin organizing the event."

Nick let out a whoop of joy and set Jack down. "Then let's get started this weekend! We can all go over to Ana's place after school tomorrow for a brainstorming session."

Ana smiled. "That should be fine with my folks. They're used to it by now. Does that work for you, Jack?"

The group's newest member nodded, still catching the breath Nick had squeezed out of him. "I'll have to double check, but that should be fine."

"_Great_," Aster drew the word out, making the sarcasm in his tone very clear.

Jack ignored him. "I'll see you guys after school, then."

"It's a date!" Ana giggled and darted out of the room. "Come on guys, we've got only half an hour left for lunch."

As the other boys filed out after her Aster refused to even look at Jack, but Sandy gave the boy a happy little wave when he passed.

Once they'd left, Jack turned and faced Mr. Moon. Gone were the cocky smirk and cool attitude. In their place stood an awkwardly-shuffling young man, a shy smile lighting his entire face in a happy glow. If Aster had seen him then he would have known there was nothing to worry about. "Thank you."

Mr. Moon nodded, his eyes twinkling. "Jack, I know you've got your own agenda in this, but at least try to make friends with the gang. You might be surprised how much you like them."

Jack looked at the door where the four had just exited and shrugged. The cockiness was back. "Well, I make no promises, but I'll try."

* * *

"He's up to something!"

Ana rolled her eyes at the pacing teen. Aster was stalking back and forth in front of the grassy spot the other three were sitting in, his lunch sitting on the ground, untouched. "Aster, stop worrying and eat! You saw his reaction. I don't think Jack's plotting anything."

"That cutesy shy thing? All an act! You'll see, Ana, he's going to be nothing but a pain in our backside for the next three months." Aster accented this statement with waving hands and raised voice, drawing several curious glances from other students.

Nick swallowed the bite of sugar cookie he'd been munching on and sighed. "Come on, Aster, even if he is, there's nothing we can do about it. He's accepted the position. Jack Frost is on the winter benefit committee and we're just going to have to deal with it."

"I know, but we need to start planning damage control for when he inevitably tries to ruin the event."

Sandy frowned at his friend and crossed his arms. The golden haired teen was clearly not pleased with Aster's approach to the situation.

Aster flinched at the look he was being given and whined the words, "Oh, come on, Sandy!"

None of them had noticed Pitch stiffen at the picnic table behind them when Aster first mentioned Jack, and they were too busy arguing to sense that something was wrong when the black-haired boy stood up, meal unfinished, and stocked out of the lunch area. He needed to have a few words with a certain snowy-haired prankster.

* * *

Jack was sitting in his favorite spot, the foot of a tree on the edge of the school grounds, reading a book. He always went here when he had some free time, and Pitch was well aware of this. The spot was surprisingly secluded, and the two boys had often spent the lunch period there back when they were friends.

When Pitch arrived and saw Jack, he let out a low snarl, stalked over, and snatched the book from the other boy's hands, throwing it on the ground by his feet. "And what exactly do you think you're doing?"

Jack raised an eyebrow and grinned, "Well, I was reading."

"Shut it, Frost. You know _exactly_ what I meant. You're helping those idiots with their stupid Christmas benefit! You said you didn't care what they did, not that you were joining the ranks!" Pitch was shaking with rage as he waited for Jack to explain himself.

Instead, Jack retrieved the book from the ground, brushed the dirt off the cover, and resumed reading. He really didn't feel like fighting with his old partner in crime. Pitch reached down to snatch the book away again, but Jack adeptly moved it out of the path of the taller boy's hand. "Go away, Pitch."

"Not until I get an answer!"

Jack sighed and looked up at the seething teen. "They asked; I said yes. End of story. Bye now!"

"End of story? Since when did you care about helping with stuff like that?"

Jack closed the book, pursing his lips as he tried to decide what to say. If anyone would understand why he was doing this, it was Pitch. "They're not doing a benefit this year."

"Then what is wonder team doing that could possibly tempt Jack Frost?"

Jack ran a hand through his hair. He'd known this was coming, but he hadn't expected the confrontation so soon. "They're doing a children's fair in Burgess."

Pitch stared at the teen sitting on the ground before him for a few seconds before laughing. "Oh, this _is_ rich. Do they know?"

Jack glared up at his former best friend. "Of course not! They're not going to, either."

Pitch was still laughing, but he managed to choke out, "Yeah, sure."

Jack's alabaster skin was slowly heating up, turning an attractive shade of scarlet, but he wasn't sure if it was due to rage or embarrassment. "They won't! It's not like I'm going to get all chummy with those losers! I'm just going to make sure the fair is incredible."

"_You're_ going to make it incredible? Come on, Jack! You do nothing but make messes and cause chaos. It's why I like you."

Jack was on his feet now, frosty eyes flashing.

Pitch just grinned, still chuckling. The rage was gone, replaced with cold amusement. "What? Are you going to deny it? Name one productive thing you've done in the seven years since I met you."

The fire drained out of Jack and he leaned back against his tree, wrapping his arms tightly across his chest. He looked like he was about to cry. Pitch grinned at the sight. _Perfect_.

"Don't you get it, Pitch?" He whispered, not even able to look the other teen in the eyes. "This is my one chance to do something right!"

"And how do you plan to do that? Just because Jack Frost suddenly wants to be the golden boy doesn't mean he can erase years of being a meddlesome thorn." Pitch moved to Jack's side, casually draping an arm across slumped shoulders. His tone softened, "Listen, you go ahead and try. You try with all your heart! When this all comes crashing down and you're left standing amidst a pile of ruin, I'll be there to welcome you back where you belong. Here, by my side."

Jack didn't even look at Pitch as the other boy gave him a mocking side hug and turned away. He waited until he was sure Pitch was gone and sunk back to the ground, blinking back tears. Pitch was wrong. He was going to make this work. He had to.


	3. Playtime with the Minis

"Ready for festival planning awesomeness!" Ana bobbed happily before him, clasping her hands together behind her back in excitement. It was the final period of the day on Friday, the only class Jack had with the girl, and she'd spent the entire fifty minutes shooting him excited grins from across the room. The second class had ended she'd rushed to his side.

He laughed. "I think so."

"I know so! Oh, Jack, you have no idea how happy I am that you're joining us! It's just been the four of us for years and now we're getting a new member. You're like an early Christmas present!" She beamed at him warmly and he realized he actually believed her.

With an amused smirk, he stretched and stood up, happy to be done with class. "Well, lead the way. Where are we meeting the others?"

Ana moved across the classroom and into the hall with Jack following at her heels. "In the parking lot. Aster and I normally walk home, but Nick drives every day, so we're all going to ride to my house in the sleigh."

"The sleigh?"

Ana gave him a wink and zoomed off down the hallway. "You'll see."

Jack allowed her to rush ahead. With her bright green tank top and cobalt poncho it was easy to keep track of her in the crowd.

When they arrived in the parking lot Jack immediately understood the car's nickname. Nick's car was an enormous, cherry red jeep Cherokee that had a tiny, white frost pattern decorating its sides, a hood ornament in the shape of a Christmas tree, and a Christmas wreathe tied to the front grill. The front license plate read "MRYXMAS." Jack had seen the car around town before, but he hadn't taken the time to realize just how bizarre it was.

Nick, Aster, and Sandy had already arrived and were waiting for them inside the Jeep. As Jack cautiously approached the car he could hear music playing – Christmas music. It was the first week of September.

Nick threw the driver's door open and stepped out of the jeep, the upbeat chords of 'Winter Wonderland' drifting out of the car. "There you two are! We were starting to wonder where you were."

"Sorry – class ran a little late, but we're here now! Right, Jack?" Ana called back, grinning at her companion.

Jack didn't say a word, still working on processing the creature that was Nick's car. Finally, he spoke. "You do know that Christmas is, like, four months away, right?"

Nick laughed, a deep booming sound that made the large boy's whole body shake, "Christmas is more than just a one-day thing, my friend. It's a state of mind!"

Aster, who was sitting in the passenger's seat, rolled his eyes and called out the window. "It's just another overly-commercialized holiday, mate. If you want something that has stayed pure and untainted, then just wait until spring."

Nick shook his head and grinned at Jack. "Ignore Aster. He's just upset that _my_ Christmas benefits are always a much bigger hit than _his_ annual Easter egg hunt."

Jack smirked. "Don't worry, I'm pretty good at ignoring Aster."

"I heard that!"

Ana pulled open the Jeep's door and hopped into the back with Sandy. "Come on, guys. Stop acting like little kids."

Nick zoomed around the car and popped back into the driver's seat while Jack cautiously got into the back with Ana and Sandy. Much to his surprise, the car's seats were incredibly comfy and a pleasant smell of pine and peppermint filled his nose. He grinned and slammed the door shut, suddenly perfectly okay with traveling in the strange vehicle.

Nick watched this transformation take place in his rearview mirror and grinned over at a scowling Aster. "Everyone loves the sleigh."

* * *

Ana's house was an old Victorian-style manor. In spite of the building's obvious age, the walls remained vibrant shades of pink and purple while it its roof was a light, creamy yellow. Nick parked in the driveway and Aster stumbled out of the car, looking a little green. He always got motion sickness when Nick was at the wheel.

The other teens exited the Jeep and made their way up to the house while Aster caught his breath. When they opened the door, they were greeted by a flock of five eagerly waiting, miniature Anas.

"Okay, okay! Back off, ladies!" Ana cried as she cleared a path into the house. The other teens barely noticed the kids other than to brush them off, but Jack was transfixed. Ana noticed this and shrugged, giving him a 'what can you do' look. "Both of my aunts live nearby so my cousins are _constantly_ over here playing with my baby sister. I guess my family has some pretty strong genes, huh?"

Jack blinked, still taking in the group of clones. "Which one's your sister?"

Ana bent down and plucked the tiniest of the girls from the group. The child was wearing a shimmering green princess dress, the same color as Ana's top. "This is Baby. Her real name's Anita, but it sounds so much like mine we just started calling her Baby Ana or Baby."

The little girl giggled and gave Ana a hug before shyly waving at Jack.

"Baby, this is Jack. He's going to be helping us with our Christmas project this year so you can't bother him, understood?"

The little girl pouted, but nodded. Ana then trained her gaze on the rest of the flock. "That goes for the rest of you too, okay ladies?"

The miniature Anas looked crestfallen, but nodded as Ana set Baby back on the ground and made a shooing motion.

"Wait!" All eyes turned to Jack. He'd thrown his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "I don't mind if they want to bother me. They can bother me as much as they want!"

Ana looked at him in bewilderment, clearly taken aback at his strange behavior. "But, what about the project?"

"No, no," Aster was smirking, "if Jack wants to play with those of equal mental capacity to his own, then who are we to stop him?"

They waited for Jack to take the bait, but he seemed to accept the jab in good humor as Baby and the others grabbed onto his hands and dragged him down the hallway to their play room, more than willing to take him up on the offer.

Ana looked at the others uncertainly. "But he's supposed to be helping us plan the fair."

Aster started up the stairs to Ana's room, their normal meeting place, as he declared, "We've never needed his help before, so what do we care if he hangs out with the minis?"

The other teens accepted this and followed. It figured Jack would bow out as soon as he was confronted with real work.

* * *

"Ana, your new friend is absolutely wonderful with children! I've never seen the girls so well behaved." Ana's mother had followed them upstairs about fifteen minutes later, positively singing Jack's praises.

"What do you mean, mom?" Ana asked, looking up from her laptop into the warm, violet eyes of her mother.

"Well, you'll just have to come and see!"

The four teen's exchanged confused stares and followed the short blonde woman back downstairs to the playroom.

Inside, Jack was crouched low to the ground, his eyes wide in terror, as he whispered, "The dragon came ever closer to my hiding space. I could feel the heat radiating off of its boiling flesh."

Five pairs of violet eyes were transfixed on him, listening in rapture as he spun the tale.

"With a wild bellow the beast rushed past me and into the night. The way was now open for my escape, but Princess Anita was still trapped inside and I'd promised the fairies that I would save her."

Even Aster found himself smiling as they stood in the doorway, watching the girls listen as Jack rushed around the room playing the part of the brave hero. Every child had a character in the story and, when that character appeared, he'd pull them into the game until their job was done. The only noises that escaped the girls who weren't currently taking part in the tale were giggles and gasps.

Ana's mother grinned at the scene and looked down at her daughter. "You know, when you told me you were adding another member to your group for this year's event I was curious what in the world he'd have to offer your little group, but I get it now. He's exactly what you need to make sure the entire fair is fun!"

At this, Aster's scowl returned. "We don't need a goofy showoff to make our fair fun. I know how to show kids a good time without Jack Frost's help."

"I'm sure you do, Aster, but a little extra help can certainly go a long way when you're dealing with kids."

Aster rolled his eyes. "Look, Mrs. Romoli, Jack may be able to entertain five little girls, but he's still shirking his duties. He should be upstairs helping us brainstorm."

Ana's mother placed a hand over her mouth and made a tiny noise of surprise. "Oh, Aster, I'm so sorry! When I saw the girls pull that boy down the hall with them I just assumed you kids weren't starting yet. I asked him to watch them for me while I made a phone call. I only just got off the phone and came back to this."

The conversation had broken Jack out of playtime mode and brought him back to reality. He was now standing silently in the middle of the room, looking at the group of teens in the doorway, clearly a bit embarrassed. Baby looked at her new friend and cocked her head to the side, "Why'd you stop telling the story?"

He crouched down to her level and grinned at the tiny girl, "Well, I'm afraid I've got to go work on a project with Ana and her friends."

All of the children made sounds of despair. "But what happened to Princess Anita and Sir Frost?"

Jack looked at the asker and replied with a question of his own. "What do you think happened to them, Lea?"

The girl thought about it for a minute then said, "I think they got married and lived happily ever after."

Jack stroked his chin, considering the idea. "_Ever_ after?"

"Yes." Lea, the eldest of the five, nodded decisively. "Princesses always live happily ever after."

Jack looked a little lost now. "Like, forever after?"

"Yes!" All of the girls replied this time, giggling.

He fell back, leaning against the couch, eyes wide. "Wow! Well, if all five of you agree then that _must_ be what happened, right?"

The girls stopped giggling and considered this proposal. Lea reached a decision first, "I guess it must be!"

The other girls nodded in agreement and Jack rose to his feet. "I guess there isn't much left to tell, then, is there?"

The flock of minis crowded around Jack and hugged the pale boy's legs. He gently pried them off and then strode across the room to the group of waiting teens. His cheeks were flushed a pale pink, but he seemed quite pleased with himself. "Sorry, Ana, your mom asked me to watch them and I guess I got a little carried away. I hope I didn't miss too much."

She shook her head. "No, we were just getting started."

Jack grinned. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get to work!"


	4. Burgess

Sandy yawned and Jack smiled sleepily at the smaller boy, "I hear ya, Sandy."

The first thing the group had done was create a list of the live entertainment, games, and food they wanted to have available for the fair. Then came the hard part. Ana was typing away on her laptop, looking up contact information and running theoretical costs through an Excel sheet. She served as the group's treasurer, secretary, contact person, and general holder of information. It was a lot of work, but Ana liked to stay busy.

Aster was leaning against Ana's bed, sketching out a rough plan for the fairgrounds. Despite the boy's external gruffness, he was an excellent artist and served as the head of layout and designs for any event the group held.

Nick was sprawled on the floor, working on homework. The burly teen's jobs were woodcarving, heavy lifting, pick-up, and delivery. As the event drew closer, he'd make whatever they needed in his family's workshop and be driving the sleigh all over, picking up donations and orders. For now, though, he didn't have much to do.

Neither did Sandy. The golden haired teen was the group's head of schedules and ideas. While the others often came up with a general notion of what they wanted to have happen, it was Sandy's job to plan it all out and decide what exactly should happen on the day of the fair with his incredible imagination. Now that they'd figured out the basic plan, Sandy's skills wouldn't be needed until they knew what all they'd have available.

So far, Jack's job had been to offer some minor suggestions and decide if Sandy's ideas would actually be fun for kids or not. Watching the others fall into their familiar roles, the light-haired boy was feeling more than a little useless.

Nick glanced up from his math, taking in the two tired teens, and let out his own massive yawn. Jack laughed at the sight and said, "I guess we're all getting pretty tired, huh?"

Ana continued to type away, not even taking the time to look up as she replied, "Not really. Which is good, because I've still got a lot to do before we can start to contact people and that really ought to be done as soon as possible."

Jack had offered to help her, but Ana had insisted that she had to do this on her own. She had a system and she did not need it messed up. Plus, did Jack happen to have a laptop to use? No? Then let her get back to work and be quiet.

After that little confrontation Jack had thought about going back downstairs to play with the little girls, but decided he'd rather not give Aster anything to gripe about. He hadn't even dared to get out his book and read. It had been a very boring couple of hours and now he was starting to get drowsy. He rose to his feet an addressed the group. "Well, unless you need my help with something else, I think I should head home."

Now everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Jack. The blue eyed boy stared back. "What?"

Nick let out another yawn and gave Jack an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Jack, I guess we forgot to tell you that we normally spend the night together after a brainstorming session. You should stay and join us."

Jack grinned and started to inch his way towards the door. "Oh, that's all? It's no big deal. I mean, I didn't get permission for that or bring anything with me so I think I'll just head home."

Ana nodded, but looked troubled. "You sure about that, Jack? It's kind of a tradition."

Jack continued inching towards the exit. "I've never been one for traditions. I always tend to break them."

Aster snorted and resumed working on his sketch. "That's unsurprising."

Jack laughed, finally reaching the door, and said, "I'll see you guys Monday, then. Or are we meeting up tomorrow as well?"

Ana began to shake her head when Nick spoke up. "Well, actually, I think we should take a trip over to Burgess tomorrow. We already know we wanna have the fair at the rec center and, while I know we've all been there before, we've never actually used the indoor portion before."

Sandy gave Nick a "thumbs up," and the others murmured their assent. Jack ran a hand through his hair, suddenly a little nervous, but hiding that fact behind a grin. "Oh, right, yeah. How hard do you think it'll be to get to use it?"

Aster started erasing furiously, obviously displeased with something he'd just drawn, "It shouldn't be hard at all! They know us pretty well by now. Where do you think I throw my egg hunts?"

"Well, that's awesome! So, what time should I be back here?"

"Don't worry about it, Jack. Just give me your address and we can pick you up when we're finally ready to go. Aster's a total grump in the morning so it may take a while for us to get moving." Nick threw the boy a note pad and pen, both of which Jack caught easily.

He scribbled down an address and tossed the note pad back. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

The group bid Jack goodbye as he quickly left the room and made his way down the stairs. He grabbed his backpack from its resting place by the front door and opened it to leave, only to be stopped by a woman's voice calling, "wait!"

Mrs. Romoli had heard him leaving and had emerged from the kitchen to give him a tight hug. "Thank you for all your help today, Jack. You're more than welcome to play with the girls anytime you like!"

Jack hesitantly returned the hug and thanked her for the offer before stepping out into the night. The air was cold, which wasn't uncommon for an early autumn night, but Jack liked it that way. He happily made his way through moonlit streets, enjoying the feeling of the chill wind on his face, thinking about how amazing the children's fair was going to be.

* * *

Jack's house was a tiny thing, an old-fashioned colonial relic made of stone that seemed to come right out of another era. All four of the group exited the sleigh, curious to see what the inside looked like, and went to the door to pick up their newest group member.

A warm smiled graced the face of the pale-haired woman who answered the door. Her complexion was nearly identical to Jack's, but they looked nothing alike. "Hello, you must be Jack's friends! Come on in! He's up in his room."

They filed in and Nick gave her a warm smile. "Thanks, Mrs. Frost."

The smile faltered, "It's Overland, actually."

Nick immediately apologized, "I'm sorry, we didn't know you kept your maiden name. Jack didn't tell us."

"What? No, I took my husband's name." The smile was gone and her speech was halting, as if she didn't know what to say. The teens weren't sure what to say either. As the five of them stood in an awkward silence a sharp intake of breath drew their attention to the bottom of the stairs.

Jack was standing there, wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a midnight blue t-shirt, a ratty deep blue hoodie draped over his arms. He treated them to his trademark smirk, "I heard the doorbell and figured it had to be you guys. I shoulda known there'd be trouble already."

He marched forward and gave Mrs. Overland a hug, ignoring the elephant in the room. "I told you that we're just going to Burgess, right?"

She nodded, hugging Jack back. "Yes, sweetie. Do you need any money?"

"Nah, I've got a twenty. I shouldn't need more than that."

Mrs. Overland was smiling again, "Alright. Well, have fun!"

Jack practically shoved the others out of the house and back to the sleigh. "Alright, it's already past noon. We should get going."

They all climbed into the jeep, sensing that the topic of the name difference was not to be addressed, and buckled up as Nick turned the keys in the ignition. The sleigh purred to life and the driver asked his passengers, "So, shall we listen to Nat King Cole or Mariah Carey?"

Ana called out "Mariah" in harmony with Aster's "Nat."

"Sorry, Ana, I'm shotgun and therefore have music rights." Aster was grinning back at the girl, waving the white CD in his hand tauntingly.

Then Nick pulled out of the driveway and Aster's face paled slightly. He dropped the CD and turned to face the road, tightly gripping the seat's arm rests as he growled, "You did that on purpose, Nick."

The driver looked into the rearview mirror and winked at the grinning Jack. "Now why would I possibly do that?"

Sandy let out a merry little chuckle and Ana started laughing. She zipped forward and grabbed the CD off the ground, popping it in the CD changer. "Okay, Aster, we can listen to your music choice."

Jack settled back into the comfy seat, enjoying the friendly banter, as the calming music of one of his favorite Christmas song filled the car. "_Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Jack Frost nipping at your nose…_"

* * *

Burgess, though only an hour away, was much bigger than their hometown of Narvon. Jack leaned against the window as the others chatted away, watching as the familiar buildings flew by. The main street was lined with tiny mom-and-pop shops that sported cutesy, old-fashioned names like 'Acorn Antiques.' Families, couples, and groups of teenagers were wondering about, enjoying the sunny day. Jack glanced down at the ragged hoodie draped over his legs. He'd have to put it on soon.

Suddenly, Nick made a sharp turn off the main road onto a well-traveled side street, causing Aster to let out a moan.

They drove for a few more minutes until they'd left the main body of the town for a more suburban area. "There it is!"

The recreation center was a long, low, grey building surrounded by grassy sports fields, one of which was being used for a youth soccer game. Nick pulled into the parking lot and everyone jumped out, glad to be able to move around. Jack was the last to exit. Aster, who was just starting to no longer feel nauseous, took one look at the white haired youth and raised an eyebrow, "What's with the new look, Frost?"

In spite of the heat, Jack had thrown on the hoodie, pulling the hood up so that his hair was completely obscured. He shrugged, "I like to avoid the stares."

Sandy tilted his head to the side and gave Jack a confused look, as if to say, "Why dye it then?"

Jack understood exactly what the look meant. After all, he'd heard the question many times over the years. "I don't dye it. I'm just a partial albino. I was born without pigment in my hair and minimal amounts in my eyes and skin. It doesn't really bother me too much, it just makes for a fun conversation starter."

The teens began to move towards the building with Aster leading the way as Ana asked, "Oh, is your mom an albino, too?"

The question had been born of innocent curiosity, but Jack froze.

"My mom?" He whispered.

Ana nodded, noticing his sudden rigidity with confusion, "Yeah, she's pale, too."

Jack gulped, looked into inquisitive, violet eyes, and forced his lips into a smirk. "No, my mom was… isn't an albino."

If Ana noticed the stutter, she didn't let on. Instead she dipped her head in acknowledgment and zoomed off after Aster and Nick who had already reached the building's doors.

Sandy, however, held back, walking by Jack's side.

Jack groaned, "Sandy, really I don't wanna talk about it."

Sandy didn't say a word, but he gave Jack a sad smile that clearly said, "I'm here whenever you're ready to open up."

Jack laughed. "Okay, maybe I'll tell you one of these day."

Sandy's smile brightened.

"Come on, slowpokes!" Aster yelled at the dawdling pair, causing Sandy to purse his lips and grab Jack's hand, pulling the taller boy across the grounds and towards the building.

Jack jumped at the sudden contact, not used to being touched, but raced to keep up. Since when could Sandy move this fast?

Aster was laughing now. "Don't let his size fool you, Sandy's quite the athlete. Years of running after us have really paid off."

Having arrived at the building, the diminutive teen let go of Jack and flexed, making all of them laugh.

"Okay, Sandman, I won't go picking any fights with you."

Sandy considered the new nickname and decided he liked it, beaming at Jack to show his approval as Nick opened the building's burgundy doors. "Come on, let's go see if Mr. Kaufman's here. We still need talk with him about reserving the building for the fair."

* * *

Mr. Kaufman, the head of the rec center, was an elderly gentleman in his early seventies and he was sitting in his office when the gang knocked on the door. He looked up from his computer to see who was there and his whole face lit up. He loved when the teens came to visit. Then his eyes fell on Jack, who was in the very back, hiding. A flash of surprised recognition crossed Mr. Kaufman's face and he opened his mouth to say something, but Jack shook his head, a pleading look in his eyes. Mr. Kaufman closed his mouth and turned his attention to the others. None of them had noticed the exchange, which had taken all of three seconds. "It's so nice to see you kids, but isn't it a bit early to be planning an Easter egg hunt?"

Nick slapped Aster on the back, almost knocking him over. "For once, we're not here for the sake of Aster's event, but mine!"

Mr. Kaufman raised an eyebrow, his sea-green eyes gleaming. "So, what are you plotting this time?"

Ana took over, explaining their plans for the fair, and Mr. Kaufman listened, nodding. When she finished, the gentleman said, "Well, I don't see why not. That sounds like a wonderful idea. Do you know when you want to have this little event?"

"Saturday the fifteenth." Jack replied for the group. The others blinked in surprise, but accepted the idea. They hadn't really discussed a date, but that seemed as good as any.

Mr. Kaufman smiled at Jack, a hint of sadness creeping into his eyes. "That sounds like a perfect date. After all, you don't want to hold this thing the weekend before Christmas. I think most people will be too busy by then."

The man pulled up a calendar on his ancient desktop. "It looks like the fifteenth is still free. You can have the whole building, if you'd like. I'll have to charge you if you want to use the ice rink, though."

"I don't think that'll fit in the budget, but we'll take everything else!" Ana declaired. "Do you happen to have a blueprint we could take with us?"

Mr. Kaufman nodded. "I do, actually. Just let me go and make a photocopy."

The man stood up from the desk, grabbed a binder off the shelf, and began to head out the door when he stopped before Jack. "You know, you have yet to introduce me to your new friend."

Nick made an apologetic noise, "Sorry. Where are our manners? Mr. Kaufman, this is Jack Frost."

Mr. Kaufman nodded, still watching Jack as the hoodie-clad teen squirmed under his gaze. "Jack, why don't you come with me while I make these copies. The others have been in the building before, but you still need a tour."

Jack gave the man a little smile. "That sounds like fun."

"Excellent. You four can wait here. We shouldn't be too long."

The others shrugged and watched as their newest member followed Mr. Kaufman out the door and down the hall.

* * *

Jack was sitting on an old wooden table, swinging his legs and staring at the ground as Mr. Kaufman began to photocopy a few sheets from the binder. Neither had spoken on the way here and the silence was getting thicker by the second. Finally, Mr. Kaufman spoke, "Jack, it's good to see you."

The teen grinned, the awkwardness evaporating in the warmth of his smile. "You, too. It's been ages!"

"Do you still ice skate?"

Jack shook his head, looking a little sad. "No. I haven't put on a pair of skates since… well, I haven't skated in a long time."

Mr. Kaufman opened the machine and lined up a new page. "You should. You're a very graceful individual, Jack."

The teen beamed, "Okay, so I'd love to try it again, but there's no ice skating rink in Narvon."

"A pity." Mr. Kaufman took the photocopies from the machine. "Well, that's all of it. Now, on a serious note, is there a reason I'm acting like I don't know you?"

Jack laughed. "I'd just rather not have these guys know all about me, that's all."

The elderly man sighed. "Jack, they're good kids. You could do a lot worse than trusting those four."

Jack didn't seem bothered by the man's sad tone as he hopped off the table and darted into the hallway. "Don't worry, I already promised Mr. Moon I'd give them a shot."

"Ah, Manfred. I had forgotten that he's their advisor for these little events. I take it he's still the high school's social worker?"

Jack nodded, babbling on about Mr. Moon and how awesome a teacher he was as they made their way back to Mr. Kaufman's office.

* * *

The teens arrived back in Narvon just as dusk was setting in. After leaving the rec center they'd gone to a local diner for lunch and then just wandered around town for a bit. Jack had seemed oddly on edge, keeping the hood of his hoodie drawn over his hair, but they'd all had a good time. On the ride back, Jack had even joined in the conversation instead of sitting quietly in his seat like he'd done on the way there.

Now that they were home, Nick was dropping Jack off first. The albino boy thanked the brunet for the ride and headed into his house with a final goodnight and a promise to see them all on Monday.


	5. The letter

Jack awoke just after 6:00 on Monday morning. The sky outside his window was the pale grey of predawn. He sighed happily and lay there, wrapped up tightly in the covers, watching as the sun slowly painted the sky warm shades of red and gold. At 6:45 he finally got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. The Overlands wouldn't be up for at least another hour, so he tried his best to be quiet as he turned on the water and stripped out of his pajamas.

He carefully placed a hand into the spray, checking the temperature, then stepped into the tiled cubicle. As the water cascaded over his alabaster skin, Jack thought about the weekend's events. It had been so strange to actually talk to someone from the past, to wander around and be a part of Burgess instead of an invisible specter in a blue hoodie. He'd known joining the others in their little committee meant talking with people in the town, but he hadn't realized how much it would make him miss…

No, this wasn't worth thinking about. Jack shut off the water and grabbed a towel, ignoring the fact that he hadn't actually washed anything.

* * *

"Good morning, everyone!" Jack greeted the gang with gusto.

Ana, Sandy, and Nick were standing by the sleigh, talking animatedly, while Aster slouched against the vehicle, his eyes half closed.

Ana smiled and spun over to Jack's side, "Wasn't this weekend fun?"

"Yeah, it was. We're still meeting after school to start calling businesses about donations, right?"

She winked and gave him a big thumbs up, "Yep!"

"Alright, then, see you after school." Jack started towards the building, but Nick's strong hand grabbed his backpack and pulled him back to the group.

"Hey, you're part of the group now. You're stuck hanging out with us until its time to go to class. That's one tradition we're going to make you keep."

* * *

The week passed in a blur of classes, homework, and phone calls. Every day the group would meet and go to Ana's house where they'd all sit in her room, calling the numbers she gave them, until they completed that day's list. While the others used their cell phones Jack was stuck using the landline. That had been an interesting conversation with Aster.

"You don't have a cell phone?"

"Nope."

"Crikey, mate, it's the twenty-first century, not the seventeenth!"

Then came Friday. After an hour of making phone calls, Jack left Ana's house and made his way home. Nick had offered to give him a lift, but he'd declined. Jack liked walking.

"I'm home!" He announced as he entered the stone house.

"Welcome home, Jack. I'm in the kitchen," Mrs. Overland replied, her soft voice drifting from the back of the house.

Jack threw his backpack by the door and went to great her. When he entered the kitchen he found her working on cutting up potatoes. "In the mood for potatoes and ham?"

"Always! Need any help?"

"Well, I haven't diced the onions yet."

"I'm on it!" Jack gave her a mock salute and went over to the sink to wash his hands.

"Oh, Jack, before you start, a letter came for you."

Jack stopped, his right hand resting on the faucet. "Where is it?"

Mrs. Overland sighed. "Sitting on the table."

He nodded and walked over, picking a bright, white envelope off of the familiar wooden surface. He ripped the letter open and pulled out a carefully folded piece of paper with a neatly written message inscribed upon it. Jack read the black words and smiled, "Jamie's team is going to be in the playoffs in two weeks."

Mrs. Overland stopped chopping, but didn't look at Jack. "That's wonderful! Where are they being held?"

"Burgess, as usual."

"Do you need one of us to drive you?"

"No, I'll take the bus."

Jack set the letter back down on the table and washed his hands, grabbing an unchopped onion off of the counter. In silence, the two finished preparing dinner. When Mr. Overland arrived home Jack told him that he'd be going to Burgess for the day the Saturday after next. The man nodded and let the matter drop. The Overlands had long since given up trying to talk to Jack about these trips.

* * *

It was Monday morning once again, and the gang was crowded around Nick's car, as usual, plotting what to do the following weekend.

"Well, the weekend after this we're going to go and pick out trees from the tree farm, so why don't we spend this weekend going through the storage room and seeing what all decorations we still have in there?"

Ana's proposal was immediately accepted by all save Jack, who had stopped listening after the tree farm comment. "Wait, what's this about a tree farm? Isn't it a little early to go and pick out trees?"

Ana laughed. "Sorry, Jack, I keep forgetting that you're not used to this. We always go out to the local tree farm the third weekend in September and pick out what trees we'd like to use for that year's Christmas benefit event. They're trees – it's not like they're going to get much bigger by December, and it makes it so that we all have a say in which ones we use. Plus, it saves us some time during the crunch period."

"Crunch period?"

"The last few weeks before the benefit. Things get pretty busy!"

"I can't go."

Aster gave Jack an annoyed look from his resting spot, "And what has the great Jack Frost so busy that he can't go?"

"I've got a…" Jack paused, searching for the right words, "…family event."

"You sure about that, mate? Because you certainly don't _sound_ sure about it."

"Aster, leave Jack alone, he's been doing a great job so far," Ana scolded, waggling a finger at the sleepy teen. She gave Jack an apologetic smile. "That's fine; it's just tree shopping. You're free this weekend, though, right?"

"Of course!"

* * *

The winter benefit was a traditional event that had been going on for roughly fifteen years. Every year a group of high school students would use a pooled group of community and business donations to hold an event of their choice that would somehow benefit children. In their freshman year, Mr. Moon had asked Ana, Sandy, Nick, and Aster to run the benefit. They'd been doing it ever since.

Normally, the teens held some sort of fundraiser for the elementary or middle school, but they'd decided they wanted to do something big for their senior year. Thus Nick's winter fair idea.

Since the benefit was an annual community-funded event, there was an official room dedicated to it in the high school. It was an old teachers' lounge that had long since been replaced by a new one.

The room was piled high with boxes of Christmas decorations, sheet music, and even costumes from the year they'd done a play.

"Look – wings!" Ana was running around with a pair of shimmering, gossamer wings attacked loosely to her back.

Jack laughed, "Those look more like fairy wings than angel wings. Just what kind of play did you put on?"

"_The_ _Nutcracker_, silly. I was the sugar plum fairy." Ana posed regally. The effect was somewhat diminished by the terrible lighting and messy backdrop, but Jack applauded nonetheless. After a week of minimal fair duties the five teens were finally taking the time to go through the storage room.

"Oy, Ana. Stop showin' off an get back to work. Jack doesn't need help being a load."

She took the wings off and carefully laid them back in the box. "I can take a five-second break to try on a pair of wings, Aster."

"Yeah, yeah." The boy was looking through a box of paints. "Looks like most of these are still in useable shape. Now we just have to pick a theme for the fair so I know if we need other colors."

Jack grabbed a box off of the top of a pile at Ana's request and placed it on the floor for her to look through. "I thought we had a theme: Christmas."

Aster stopped rummaging and fixed his eyes on Jack. Sandy rolled his eyes and gave Jack a look that clearly said, "Now you've done it."

"Christmas is the theme, huh? So, does that mean traditional Christian imagery or modern commercial ones? Or are we taking the winter wonderland approach? If we do that we need to pick between comical snowmen and enchanting frost imagery. Or are we doing some sort of old-fashioned Victorian Christmas with winter village imagery? Hmm?"

Jack stared at the other teenager in shock. "I didn't realize how many options there were."

"No one ever does! And you know what? The day of the fair will come and no one will mention how much they like the theme choice because, to them, it will be the obvious choice! Meanwhile I'll have spent weeks designing and painting so that it all looks just right. Bloody ingrates."

As Aster continued to rant, Jack looked at the laughing Nick and Sandy for help, but they shook their heads. They'd had to deal with these rants before and they weren't about to get involved in another.

Aster like Easter for a very specific reason: People always complemented him on his painted eggs. When they threw the winter benefit, though, the artist rarely got a smidge of recognition.

When he'd finally stopped ranting, Aster gave Jack a final glare and returned to his rummaging.

Jack didn't say another word about themes the rest of the day.

The time in the storage room did prove to be well worth it. The group was able to find a good amount of paints and decorations that could be used to help bring the fairgrounds to life, but they were exhausted by the end of the day. With tired waves they parted and went to their respective homes, happily falling into dreamland.

* * *

The next week passed by uneventfully as well. Ana received confirmation of funds and other donations, which she happily reported to the group, and Aster finally picked a theme (winter wonderland, enchanted frost style.) This meant he could begin to design the fair booths and Sandy could start to think up names for the different events. Nick took the sleigh out to the local lumber yard and picked up a donation of plywood, which he would store in his family's workshop until the team was ready to start bringing Aster's designs to life.

Jack attended every meeting, but there wasn't anything for the albino to do.

Then it was Saturday, the day of the tree picking.

* * *

Aster stalked up the cobblestone path that lead to the door of Jack's house. Family event – yeah, right. He bet Jack just didn't want to waste the day stomping about that ruddy tree farm. Aster couldn't blame him for the sentiment, but that didn't mean he could just skip out. He had an hour before it was time to head out and he was going to make sure Jack Frost came with them.

The Australian teen banged on the door and Mrs. Overland answered. "Hello, Aster, how can I help you?"

He knew it. "Yeah, can I talk to Jack for a sec?"

Mrs. Overland looked surprised, "Jack's not here. Didn't he tell you kids he was going to be out of town today?"

"No, he didn't." It was only a half lie. "Where is he?"

Mrs. Overland looked unsure how to respond, an emotion that often seemed to engulf the woman when asked about something concerning Jack. "Well, he's… oh, dear."

"Honey, who's at the door?"

A tall man with dark hair entered the hall and came to stand by Mrs. Overland. The woman gestured to the teen before her, "Dear, this is Aster, one of Jack's new friends. He's here to see Jack."

Mr. Overland sighed. "Of course he is. Son, why don't you come inside and sit down? This is gonna take a while."


	6. Jack Forgotten

_"You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch. You really are an eeee…" _Nick snapped open his phone, cutting off the song mid-note. "Hey Aster!"

"Nick, can you do me a favor and come over to the Overland's house."

"But we're leaving to go tree shopping in less than an hour."

"Listen mate, just do it."

There was something in Aster's voice that made Nick stop arguing. "Okay. Do I need to bring the others?"

"Yeah, I think you do."

* * *

Nick, Sandy, and Ana arrived at the Overland's home a little less than a half hour later, wondering what in the world was so important that Aster was making them late for their tree expedition. They didn't even need to knock on the door. As soon as the sleigh's engine had turned off the door to the tiny home opened. Aster was standing there, his face looking grim.

Ana darted out of the car, suddenly very worried, "Aster, is it Jack? Is he hurt?"

The caramel hair youth shook his head. "No, he's fine, but he is the reason we're all here. Come on, follow me."

The trio followed Aster into a colonial-style living room. Inside the room, Mrs. Overland was sitting on a periwinkle couch, leaning against the chest of a dark-haired man who had to be her husband. When the teenagers entered the room she gave them all a tired smile. "Hello, kids. Please, sit down."

She motioned to the chairs along the wall. Nick and Aster sat down in the seats of the armchairs while Sandy and Ana plopped down on the floor.

"I've asked your friend Aster to call the lot of you here today for a very important discussion," Mr. Overland began. "We've already told Aster a bit of the story, but I think you all need to hear this. What is about to be said can _never_ leave this room and you are _never_ to mention it to Jack."

The teens nodded, suddenly very curious. Aster looked miserable.

"I'm sure you've noticed there's a slight difference between our last name and Jack's by now."

More nods.

"Jack is not our son. He's our foster child."

Ana and Sandy's eyes widened while Nick's face became a mask of confusion, "Why did we need to know that?"

Aster closed his eyes and hid his face in his hands. He knew what was coming next.

Mrs. Overland replied this time, "Because you're throwing a children's fair in Burgess."

The adults remained silent for a moment, debating how to explain the significance of this to the group. Then Mrs. Overland had an idea.

She rose from her seat and went over to a large bookshelf that occupied the space by the door. From the top of the shelf she pulled an old, baby blue photo album, its edges blackened and charred. She handed the album to Nick and motioned for him to open it. He did so, ignoring the charcoal flakes falling from its edges, and the other teens crowded around.

The first page held a photo of a smiling couple. The woman had shining brown eyes and flowing auburn hair. Though the color was different, those eyes were clearly Jack's. The man by her side was tall and lanky with messy milk-chocolate hair and forest-green eyes. He looked like Jack's older brother.

The teens looked up from the album and stared at the Overlands.

"Are these Jack's parents?" Ana asked.

Mrs. Overland nodded. "Yes, Emma and Nathaniel Frost. Go on, turn the page."

Nick followed her instructions. The next photo showed the same couple standing by a sign that read "Welcome to Burgess" in shiny, gold lettering.

Nick spoke this time, "Oh, Jack grew up in Burgess? That explains why he was acting so strange. Don't worry, Mrs. Overland, we'll be sensitive about the issue."

He went to close the book, but Aster stopped him. The teen's expression was pained. "That's not it, mate."

Nick raised an eyebrow and turned the page again. In this one Emma was standing in front of a house with a "sold" sign in her hands. On the page beside it was an image of Emma standing by a doctor's office, clearly pregnant. Another turn of the page and the group was staring into the frosty blue eyes of baby Jack.

The newborn was dressed in snow white pajamas and lying in a wooden crib, gazing out at the world in wonder. The next page showed a chubby, white-haired toddler blowing out the candles on a cake while Emma held him. The group flipped through the album in silence, watching as baby Jack grew up into a child before their eyes. Then they reached the image that made Ana gasp.

Emma was standing by the window, facing sideways, a young Jack resting his hand on her swollen belly. The child looked fascinated by the strange transformation his mother was undergoing and Emma was laughing.

The teens looked at the Overlands once more.

"Jack had a sibling?" Ana asked quietly, she was starting to get an idea where this was going.

Mrs. Overland shook her head and motioned for the teens to turn the page again. She knew what image they'd been looking at and she knew the next one would explain.

In this image Jack was looking down in awe at a bassinet containing two sleeping babies.

Mrs. Overland sighed. "The Frosts had three children: Jack and the twins, Pippa and Jamie."

The group took in this information silently and then Aster spoke, his voiced cracking. "So we're holding a children's festival in the town where his parents and siblings died."

"No." Mr. Overland answered. "As we said to you earlier, Aster, Jack lost his family in Burgess, but Jamie and Pippa are still alive."

The teens stayed silent, waiting for the Overlands to explain. Even Aster was confused now.

Mrs. Overland took a shaky breath, tears starting to roll down her cheeks, and began. "You have to understand, it's hard enough to find a family able to take in two children, but three? No chance. The Bennetts took in Jamie and Pippa and we got Jack. We would have loved to take in all of them, but we just didn't have to room. No one did."

The Bennetts live in Burgess and, at first, one of us would take Jack there to visit each weekend. Every time we walked in that door and the twins saw Jack they'd burst into tears. I had to watch as week after week that tore my foster son apart. It broke my heart, but there was nothing I could do."

Finally, one week we were sitting in the Bennetts' living room and Jack had an arm around each of them, holding them close as the cried into his chest. I..." Mrs. Overland let out a sob, "I don't know what triggered it, maybe she'd just reached her breaking point, but Mrs. Bennett snapped. I don't blame her, really. It was hard on me seeing those two cry week after week and I wasn't the one taking care of them, but I'll never forget what she said to Jack. 'Why do you insist on coming back every week and doing this to them. They only cry like that when you're here!'"

She regretted it immediately, I could see that, but the damage was done. I watched in silence as Jack's heart finally shattered. And then he smiled. It was a smile I had never seen on his face before, but now I see it almost every day. He stood up and the twins stopped crying. They were just surprised, I guess, because Jack always held them until they stopped crying. He looked down at them and said, 'Well I guess that's that' and then he just walked out the door."

He waited outside until I came out. Mr. Bennett came with me and we stood there in silence for awhile. Finally, Jack said," Mrs. Overland was sobbing now, but she somehow managed to choke out the words, "'I'll stay out of their lives; just let me keep them in mine.'"

Mr. Overland held his sobbing wife close and finished the story, "Ever since then we get letters or calls from the Bennetts every time something happens to Jamie or Pippa or whenever one of them has a big event coming up, but they've never invited Jack to visit and he's never asked. The twins don't even know they have a brother."

* * *

Jack watched, grinning as his little brother scored another goal. The kid was incredible! On the sidelines the Bennetts and Pippa cheered, "Go Jamie!"

He came to every game he could, hiding in the back of the crowd and watching as his brother led the team to victory. It was bittersweet at first, but over the years Jack had come to love being here. Watching as Jamie laughed and played with his teammates and as Pippa giggled with her girlfriends, he knew that they were happy.

That's all Jack had ever wanted for them. Sometimes he had to fight back the urge to run onto the field and lift the little boy into the air when Jamie won the team a game, but it was a good feeling. A feeling of pride. He got the same feeling every time he came to watch Pippa sing.

Jamie's team won the game by a landslide and Jack beamed as Pippa ran onto the field and hugged her twin. "You were amazing, Jamie."

The brown haired boy hugged her back. "Thanks, sis."

Jack felt a familiar tightening in his throat, but he ignored it, too busy drinking in the sight of his family.

The Bennetts joined their children on the field. Mr. Bennett picked Jamie up, raising him into the air with a cry of, "THE CHAMPION."

Jamie's laughter flooded Jack's ears, drowning out the noise of the dissipating crowd. He knew it was time for him to go. Even though he had his hoodie up to hide the white hair, people would notice if a random teenager stuck around watching a couple of kids. He took one last look at the joyful family and turned his back on the scene, finally letting the tears flow as he began his long walk to the bus station.


	7. Setting the trap

Ana had sunk back down to the floor sometime over the course of the story and was now crying. Sandy was by her side, an arm gently draped over her shoulders in silent comfort while a grim faced Nick stared at the Overlands, still processing the information. Aster was on his feet, looking out the window. There were tears in his eyes, but he was doing a good job of keeping them from streaking down his face.

Mr. Overland ran his hand along his sobbing wife's hair and continued, "Jack is like a son to us. We've been his guardians since he was ten years old and I would never break his trust unless I felt I had to. Maybe telling you kids all of this was wrong, but Jack's past is going to surround him every time you kids go into Burgess and I don't know what it'll do to him.

"He goes back there every time Jamie or Pippa have a performance of some kind, but he always hides his face. Jack doesn't want people from the past to see him because people in Burgess undoubtedly remember Jack. The Frosts were incredibly active and it's hard to forget such a distinctive-looking kid."

No one said anything. So that was why Jack had been so weird about letting people see his hair. A lot of questions had suddenly found answers, but they weren't the kind the group of teens had expected.

Mrs. Overland's sobs quieted to sniffles. She wiped away the remaining tears and addressed the group again, "I know this is a lot to take in, but I want to thank you kids for inviting Jack to be a part of this. I don't know where you got the idea from, but I know he's overjoyed to be helping. He never gets to do anything for Jamie and Pippa, but now he finally has a chance."

Aster glanced at the couple over his shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with us. We'll make sure this is the best fair those little ankle bitters have ever been to."

Ana jumped to her feet, knocking Sandy over, watery violet eyes full of determination, "That's right! People are going to talk about December fifteenth for years to come!"

The Overlands stared at Ana in shock.

"Did I say something wrong?" Ana asked nervously, the fire in her eyes dimming.

Mr. Overland shook his head. "No, it's nothing. We're just not used to such enthusiastic outbursts."

A high-pitched ring filled the room and Mrs. Overland stood up, "That's the phone. It's probably Jack."

She rushed into the hallway and they could hear the muted sounds of a conversation begin once the ringing stopped.

"Where is Jack, anyway?" Nick asked.

"In Burgess. Jamie's got a big soccer game today."

Nick let out a burst of desperate laugher. "I guess he wasn't lying, Aster – he did have a family event."

Aster winced. "Yeah, I guess he wasn't. We should go, though."

Nick sighed and stood up, "Aster's right. We can't be here when Jack gets home and we're already very late for our Christmas tree outing."

Mr. Overland gave the group a sad smile and rose to show them to the door.

* * *

The tree picking, normally a happy event, had transformed into a somber occasion. None of the teens said much, instead wondering around the farm in silence until one of them saw a tree that seemed like a good choice. They finished in record time since Aster and Nick didn't spend an hour arguing over which trees to choose. Aster was actually remarkably silent. The green-eyed artist had barely spoken since they'd left the Overlands, seeming content to communicate through nods and grunts.

When they arrived back in Narvon, Aster opted to head home instead of going to Ana's house afterwards, as they always did.

He grunted a goodbye to the others and made his way down the street to his own home. The Bunnymund family lived in a brown, single-story, ranch-style house. The walls were covered in trailing vines, and flower beds lines the edges of the home, making it look more like a greenhouse than a house. Aster trudged along the stepping stones that led up to the front door, staring at the ground. He felt like the world's biggest idiot. How many times had he made fun of Jack and called the kid lazy? Probably a dozen in the past month alone. He'd never been mean to Jack, but he'd never once been nice.

He opened the door and called out, "I'm home."

Immediately the sounds of tiny feet reached his ears and a giggling little girl with messy blond hair came rushing to greet him.

Aster knelt down and took the little girl in his arms, holding onto her like a lifeline. He couldn't imagine what it would do to him if she forgot he existed. She squirmed, unused to being held so tightly by her big brother, "Down!"

Hearing the noise, Mrs. Bunnymund came to see what exactly her children were up to. One look at her son told her something was terribly wrong. "Aster, what happened?"

He looked at his mother, still holding the squirming two year old, and asked, "We still have room to add an extra phone on our family plan, right?"

* * *

Pitch was waiting for Jack when he got off the bus. Ever since Jack had told the boy about his family when they were in middle school, Pitch had been waiting for the right moment to use it against Jack. He'd even started to monitor how Jamie's soccer team was doing online so he knew when Jack would be at his most vulnerable. Normally, Jack was quite good at ignoring Pitch, but after watching his family he was weak and nearly broken.

"How are the kids?"

Jack tried to keep Pitch from seeing his red rimmed eyes, but failed miserably. The ebony-haired teen was almost giddy at the site of Jack so down trodden. He had made a big mistake when he double crossed Pitch Black for those do-gooders, and Pitch was going to make sure Jack was broken beyond repair by the time Christmas had arrived and, in the process, he'd ruin that stupid fair, too. He had to start small, though.

"Leave me alone, Pitch."

Pitch tried his best to look saddened. He was a good actor. "Jack, I'm only trying to be here for you. We've been friends for so long; can't I comfort you in your time of need?"

Jack eyed the other teen warily, "You've never offered before."

"And I'm sorry for that. I never thought about how much it must hurt to see them, but never be seen. To constantly long to be part of a life you can only watch." Jack allowed Pitch to move closer. "What I said to you the other day was uncalled for. I didn't realize just how important this fair really was."

Jack looked at Pitch, wanting to believe him, but then he thought of what had happened last year and took a step back. "You've never cared about me like this before."

This was the tricky part. Pitch willed tears to come to his eyes and almost grinned when he felt wetness streaking down his face. "I never knew how bad it felt to lose someone you cared for before, but I get it now. It's like someone's taken away a piece of your heart and you'll never really be whole again."

Seeing the tears tugged at the already fragile Jack. "And what's brought about this sudden understanding?"

And now the grand finale. Pitch looked at Jack longingly, his amber eyes full of pain and sorrow, "What changed is that I've lost my only friend."

Jack stood silently for a moment, taking in this confession, and then engulfed the taller teen in a hug, "You haven't lost me. We just have to try and do things right this time."

Pitch hugged Jack back, grinning madly now that the other boy couldn't see his face, "I'll try very hard, Jack. I promise."

Jack drew away from the hug and smiled at Pitch, who had adopted a look of hope. He was glad to have his friend back.

* * *

Monday morning was cloudy and bitterly cold. Jack arrived at school to find the others sitting in the sleigh instead of gathered around it. Ana threw open the door to the warm interior and Jack hopped in. One glance into the front seat left him grinning madly. "Afraid of a little cold weather, Aster?"

While the others were merely sporting some variety of jacket, Aster was wearing a thick green winter coat, a scarf, and gloves. "It's freezing out there, mate. I don't see how the lot of you can stand it."

Jack laughed. "Are you kidding me? It's still too warm for my tastes. Just wait until it drops a couple more degrees and we finally get a good snowfall."

"Do you like snow, Jack?" Ana asked.

"Winter's my favorite season."

"Yeah, well, spring is mine." Aster replied, "When all that ruddy snow finally melts and we get to see the grass again."

Then Jack noticed the tiny present wrapped in shinning blue paper sitting on Aster's lap. "Oooooh, what's this?"

He leaned forward and grabbed the present before Aster could stop him, "Let's see, I wonder who the lucky person is. Is it for your secret crush, Aster?"

Aster grinned back at Jack, "Nah, it's for you."

Jack blinked in surprise and stared down at the tiny, blue gift. "Me?"

The others were smiling, too. They knew what was in the box.

"Yeah. Think of it as a welcome to the team thing."

Jack ran pale fingers along the smooth paper, speechless.

"You know, gifts are meant to be opened," Ana commented, playfully nudging Jack's side.

He unwrapped the gift, careful not to tear the paper. Inside was a sky blue cell phone and a black power cable. He took the phone out of the box and flipped it open. The background was an image of a snow covered forest.

Aster shrugged, "I figured you'd have a thing for winter and we really do need a way to get a hold of you."

Jack smiled and suddenly they understood what Mrs. Overland had meant when she'd said Jack's smile had changed. This smile wasn't the cocky, mischievous one that normally characterized the teen's face. No, this smile was soft and warm, full of joy and laughter. He looked up at Aster, still smiling. "Thank you."

Aster felt a flush beginning to steal across his cheeks as Jack focused all the warmth in that smile on him. "What do you know, you do have some manners after all."

The smile vanished, replaced by a cocky smirk. "Only when I feel like using them."

The moment gone, Ana and Sandy began to show Jack how to use his new phone while Nick and Aster argued about what music to listen to until it was time to go to class.

When the gang parted ways, Aster's face was still tinted a faint ruby red.


	8. Enraged Pitch

It was Thursday afternoon, three days after Jack had gotten his new phone, and Aster was busily sketching as he waited for the others to arrive at lunch. He needed to finish up the designs for the fair booths by the next day so that Nick could start making them. The burly teen had no skills whatsoever in the painting department, but he was quiet handy at carving and woodwork. "Whatcha drawing?"

"Booth design."

"Sounds interesting. How's it going?"

"Pretty well. I think I'm almost to the point where Nick can start working on them." Aster gave his pencil a little flick, adding a line to the page, and finally realized who he was talking to. He raised his gaze from the paper into the curious blue eyes of Jack Frost. "Since when did you sit with us at lunch?"

Jack shrugged and sat down, "Well, you've all been asking me to do this for a while now, and I figured it was about time I gave it a shot. I'll let you get back to your doodles, though."

Jack pulled a book out of his backpack and started reading, absentmindedly taking a bite of his food every now and then. Aster had never seen Jack read before, especially not something as dense as _The Silmarillion._

"Since when do _you_ read?"

Jack took a second to process these words and then burst into laughter.

Ana and Sandy plopped down at the table by the laughing figure and gave Aster looks that clearly asked, "What's going on with Jack?"

By the time he'd stopped laughing Nick had joined them as well, and Aster's cheeks were once again bright red with embarrassment.

The group was waiting for an explanation now, though only Aster knew what had led to the laugh attack.

"Sorry guys, that was just too funny!"

"What was?" Ana asked, glancing between the red Aster and the grinning albino.

"Aster's question!"

Seeing their blank looks Jack finally remembered that they hadn't been there to actually hear the question. "Never mind. It probably wouldn't be funny to anyone else."

Sandy frowned and gave Jack a meaningful nudge while Ana made a noise of protest.

"You can't laugh like that for a full two minutes and then not tell us what was so funny," Nick complained.

"Okay, okay. Aster, ask the question again."

"What? No! I'm not going to have you laughing at me again!"

"I wasn't laughing at _you_, I was laughing at the question!"

Aster rolled his eyes, "There's not that big a difference between the two."

"Yes, there is!"

"Could you two stop arguing and just tell us what the question was?" Ana interrupted.

Aster sighed, "Fine. I asked Frosty why he was reading."

"No, you didn't say it like that! You said," Jack let out a snort of laughter, "'Since when do _you_ read?'"

The others exchanged puzzled glances as Jack wiped tears from his eyes. "I told you it was only funny to me."

Aster growled, "And what was so funny about it?"

"It was just the way you said it, that's all. You made it sound like I couldn't possibly know how to read and it was just really funny. Especially since I read all the time."

"I've never seen you read before," commented Ana.

"Of course not. I only read when I'm comfortable," Jack explained. No one had a reply to that comment and, after the silence had remained unbroken for a minute or so, he flipped his book back open, losing himself in the history of Middle Earth.

When Jack did this, Nick looked like Christmas had come early, while Ana and Sandy exchanged happy smiles. Even Aster seemed pleased as he began to sketch once more. Jack felt comfortable. Maybe he was finally warming up to them.

* * *

Pitch was waiting for Jack when school ended. Ever since their conversation at the bus stop the two boys had begun walking home together after school on days when Jack didn't have committee duties. It was a nice change for Jack. He'd missed Pitch terribly ever since their fight last year. Before that fateful day the two had been inseparable, bonded by mutual despair, misery, and darkness.

"Are you sure you don't want me to introduce you to the gang? They're actually really nice once you get to know them!"

Pitch shook his head, "They may have forgiven you for last year, but I don't think I'm back on the nice list just yet."

"Well, it's not like we ruined their little event. Aster was able to save the day."

Pitch nodded, smiling, while he mentally cursed the moronic Australian. Aster was his least favorite of the idiots. The others were just bubbly do-gooders, but the six foot teen was the exact opposite. With his signature bandanas, shoulder length brown hair, and tanned, well-muscled, body he was the kind of person you'd expect to see in a street fight, not painting pretty pictures and helping people. It'd be almost as fun to break Aster as it was going to be to break Jack.

"I could see if they'd let you do something for the winter fair, if you'd like. We're going to need a lot of help manning booths and stuff."

"It's nice of you to offer, Jack, but I think we should stick to working on our issues instead of trying to get me more friends for now."

Jack grinned and looped his arm around the taller boy's torso, "We have issues? Since when! I forgave you for last Christmas already, silly."

_But I will never forgive you. _Pitch laughed, "Mostly just catching up at this point. I didn't see you all summer."

"Well then, let's get started!" Jack began to tell Pitch about all the books he'd read over the break while Pitch tuned him out. He already knew how he was going to do to break Jack – all he had to do was build up Jack's trust and wait.

* * *

The next day brought a winter wonderland to town. By the time Jack arrived at school and had joined the gang in the sleigh he was already covered in bits of white fluff from stopping along the way to plunge into inviting snowdrifts. "Happy Friday and first snow day of the season."

"We're still in school, so it's not a snow day," Aster grumbled from the front seat. He was always grouchy in the morning and Jack loved to take advantage of that fact. All he needed was the right opportunity.

"It snowed so it's a snow day."

Ana shivered by his side, "I'll say. I love living in Maine, but boy does winter come early! How can you stand just wearing that light jacket, Jack."

"I just like the cold, that's all."

Aster moved his hands closer to the car's heater, "Whatever you say, Frostbite."

Jack laughed, "Frostbite? Does that mean I get to think up a nickname for you?"

Aster's eyes widened and he turned to glare at Jack, "No."

"I promise it'll be a good one."

"I said no."

"You're no fun."

"I'm tons of fun!"

The others, used to the bickering by now, tuned the boys out and started talking about their plans for after school as Jack started testing out nicknames. They all jumped when Jack wrenched open the door and flew out of the Jeep, laughing. Aster quickly followed and began chasing after him with a wicked gleam in his eyes as Jack called out, "That's a no to 'Snow Bunny,' then?"

None of them noticed Pitch watching from the shadows of the building, his face clouded with rage, as Aster and Jack began a massive snowball fight.

* * *

After classes had ended the five teens piled in the sleigh once more and headed out to Nick's house. It was time to start making the booths and, although Nick would be doing most of the woodwork, Aster insisted on supervising the creation of his "babies." In order to guarantee that work actually got done the others had volunteered to tag along.

When they arrived, Jack found himself staring at the North's home in awe. Nick's house looked like it belonged in a fairy tale. It was a red, two story cottage with smoke pouring from the chimney and snow covering the roof. Icicles hung from the gutters, sparkling in the rays of the setting sun.

When he entered the house he found that the inside was even better. Though it was the only the last week of September, holly berries and evergreen boughs decorated the house, and the smell of baked goods wafted through the entryway, making Jack's mouth water. A large woman with white hair, dressed in a red dress and a green apron, came to meet them with a hot plate of sugar cookies.

Nick gave the woman a big hug. "I see you already started to decorate, Mama."

The woman replied with a string of strange words Jack couldn't understand. Nick laughed. "Yes, we're going to be working out in Papa's woodshop for the evening, but we'll be sure to come in for dinner."

Then Nick grabbed Jack and pulled him forward. "Mama, this is Jack. Our new member."

The woman smiled at Jack and gave him a bone crunching hug.

"Welcome, new friend of Nicholas!" She had a strong Russian accent, but her words were warm and inviting like a midwinter fire. "You are twig! You are needing food!"

She set Jack down and hurried back to her kitchen with cries of, "I'll bring out food."

Nick gave his stunned companion a light pat on the back, "She likes you!"

Aster seemed thrilled. "Yeah, and you're scrawnier than me so she finally has a new target for all her food."

Jack gave him a nasty look. "Great."

Laughing, the teens made their way through the house and out the back door. In the back yard, surrounded by snow, sat a wooden shed about the size of a classroom. Nick ushered them inside, and Jack found himself surrounded by half-finished wood carvings, power tools, whittlers' implements, and slabs of untouched wood. "Welcome to the workshop!"

Jack quickly learned just how talented Nick was as the older teen set to work on Aster's designs. While the other members of the group chattered and worked on homework, Jack was content to just sit there and watch Nick work. Soon, the burly teen was having Jack hold pieces of wood for him and teaching him the basics of woodworking. Jack was a fast learner and, by the time it was time to go home, Jack was being allowed to use the band saw.

* * *

The Bennett family was just about to sit down to dinner when the phone rang. Mr. Bennett sighed and grabbed the white nuisance off its hook. "Hello?"

A young, British voice replied, "Hi, Jack?"

"Jack? I'm sorry, but you have the wrong number."

"Are you sure? I thought this was his number."

"I'm sorry, kid, but there's no Jack here."

"My apologies, Sir."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it, we all make mistakes." Mr. Bennett hung up the phone and went to sit with his family. Honestly, that was the fifth time someone had dialed the wrong number in the past week!

On the other end of the line Pitch clicked off the recorder. He finally had everything he needed. Now, all that remained was to master Mr. Bennett's voice. Jack Frost was going to pay for his betrayal.


	9. Pitch Strikes

"So, what are you going to be for Halloween, Jack?" It was Monday once more and the gang was hanging out in Nick's workshop after school, working on the booths. Nick had finished the first one over the weekend and now it was time for Aster to start painting. Ana was working on crunching numbers on her laptop and helping Aster when he let her, which translated to fetching paint from the sleigh's trunk and clean cups of water when the one he was using got too dirty. Aster didn't trust others to bring his designs to life unless absolutely necessary. He was still dealing with the fact that Jack was being allowed to help cut out the booths, but he'd been taking it pretty well so far.

Meanwhile, Sandy was busily writing in a notepad, coming up with names and schedules so Aster knew what words to paint on the booth when it was finished. They group had been working in a comfortable silence until Ana had broken it with her question.

Jack looked up from tracing the outline of the next booth for cutting and thought about the inquiry. "No clue. Last year I was Danny Phantom, but I think I want to do something more complex. What about you?"

"Well, the minis want me to go as a fairy. I always get stuck taking them trick-or-treating for my folks and they always try to dictate my costume. I normally let them, too."

"What kind of fairy?"

Ana giggled, "Does it really matter?"

Jack abandoned his work and crossed his arms, looking serious. "Of course it matters! You can't just be a generic fairy! That's no fun!"

"Okay, what kind of fairy should I be?"

Jack studied her for a long time before finally replying, "Tooth fairy."

"Eww, no way! Who wants to handle things that have been in kids mouths?"

He rolled his eyes, "You don't need to actually touch the teeth. You can get helpers to do that."

Ana shook her head, "No thanks. Why in the world would you pick the tooth fairy for me anyway?"

"Because you're always doing a million and one things and you rarely take a break! It's the only type of fairy that doesn't have an off season. She's always working to make kids happy."

Ana laughed, blushing at the compliment. "Okay, how about this, I'll be a tooth fairy if you help me take the minis trick-or-treating and let me pick out your outfit."

Jack considered the proposition. He really didn't care if Ana was a tooth fairy, but the idea of taking the girls trick-or-treating was incredibly appealing. He loved spending time with them. "Deal, but no cross dressing!"

"Great! I already know what I want you to go as, too!"

Everyone was listening now, curious what Ana was going to make Jack dress up as. "You're going to be going as the Prince of Winter himself, Jack Frost!"

Jack's laughter echoed through the workshop. "Jack Frost, huh? That does sound fun."

* * *

Over the next few weeks Jack often found himself being dragged to Ana's house on their free days for fittings and measurements. She insisted on making his outfit herself and not allowing him to see it until she was done. She spent her time upstairs sewing, periodically making Jack come up and try something on with his eyes closed, while Jack played with the minis. The little girls were delighted to get to spend so much time with their favorite playmate.

During their group meetings, Jack and Nick finished making most of the booths and Aster worked on painting his masterpieces. When Nick was doing something a little too complex for Jack, Jack would go over name ideas with Sandy until he could help again. He had slowly but surely become a part of the gang and the others loved having him around. Wherever Jack Frost went, laughter and smiles seemed to follow.

At school, Jack found himself spending his free time hanging out with the gang instead of reading. Much to his surprise, he didn't mind the change. The lonely teen was finally happy.

* * *

Pitch and Jack were walking home for the first time in over a week. Jack had been busy and the smaller teen was telling Pitch all about what he'd been up to over their time apart. He laughed as he talked about Aster's reaction to Nick letting Jack take control of making one of his "babies."

Pitch looked at the laughing teen at his side and it took all his strength to keep from knocking the boy to the ground and kicking him. Jack wasn't supposed to be this happy creature, he was supposed to be Pitch's broken little toy.

When Pitch met Jack, the young albino was only ten years old. He had joined Pitch's fifth grade class in the middle of November, the strange looking new kid with sad, blue eyes who seemed to push everyone away. They didn't know Jack's past. To them, Jack was the loner new kid who hated them all. No one tried to break through the icy walls he'd surrounded himself with and see the fun-loving boy inside. No one, that is, but Pitch.

Fascinated by the new boy, Pitch had worked hard to be Jack's friend. For the first time the ebony-haired lad could remember, he actually wanted to be friends with someone. Over time, and with a lot of hard work, he had met his goal. On a sunny January afternoon, when Pitch had once again followed Jack as he walked home from school, Jack finally broke. He'd told Pitch everything. How he'd lost his parents. How just that weekend he'd given up on ever seeing his baby brother and sister ever again. How he hated this new town and wished he had died in the fire that had stolen away his world. As he cried and confessed, Pitch had felt a wonderful feeling of elation at the sight. Jack was stunningly beautiful when broken. His pain gave Pitch an odd feeling of accomplishment. After all, if it weren't for his prodding, Jack would not be the sobbing mess before him.

Pitch soon realized that, had it not been for the fact that Jack had just suffered the loss of his siblings, he would never have been able to break through those icy barriers. That was the day Pitch Black learned that, to get to Jack Frost, you needed to mess with his heart. It was a trick he'd use many times over the years. Though Jack's playful nature began to return as time softened his losses and people began to associate the boy with fun and mischief, Pitch's dark influence kept him friendless. This, in turn, kept Jack wrapped around Pitch's fingers.

The boy was desperate to be needed by someone, and Pitch needed Jack. Jack was someone to listen to his brilliant plans and praise them. He was the perfect pawn for his plans, too. All Pitch had to do was suggest a bit of mischief and Jack was willing to lend a hand to make his friend happy. On the rare occasion when Jack didn't like Pitch's ideas, the crafty boy would say just the right words to play with Jack's heart and Jack would be putty in his hands. It was this trick that had allowed him to secure Jack's help with sabotaging the Christmas benefit the year before.

Pitch went too far that time, though. He didn't tell Jack the whole plan for that night. As far as Jack had known, they were stealing some of the props for the group's play and hiding them away for a few days to cause a bit of panic. He hadn't been wild about the idea, but he'd gone along with it. Jack hadn't known Pitch was going to set fire to the props. When Pitch had done that, something came alive in the snow child. It was the first time Jack had ever defied Pitch. To his friend's shock, he'd put out the fire and saved most of the stolen goods.

Enraged, Pitch had lashed out at Jack, and the two boys had fought until the commotion had drawn the attention of some adults. Seeing the damage, the two boys had been restrained until the authorities had been called. Pitch had been blamed for orchestrating the plan, but Jack had received equal punishment for helping. Jack never told anyone that he'd stopped the fire. They all just assumed that the props hadn't caught fire well enough for it to spread through the whole pile. Luckily, Aster Bunnymund had been able to save the damaged props with his artistic talents, and the play had gone off without a hitch.

The events of that night had caused Pitch to abandon Jack. He had figured that, after spending several months totally friendless, Jack would come crawling back to where he belonged: at Pitch's side. The plan had failed.

Jack had new friends now. He'd seen the traitor messing about in the snow with Aster. He'd watched as Nick taught Jack about woodworking at lunch time. He'd raged as Ana and Jack had laughed together while walking to class. He'd seethed as Sandy had made Jack smile at some unspoken joke. Even with Pitch worming his way back into Jack's life, the teen continued to grow closer to the group. This made Pitch want to scream. Jack was his. His broken little toy. But he wasn't going to be broken for much longer. When he was around those idiots Jack was happier than Pitch had ever seen him.

Pitch was going to take his property back and break it so hard that nothing could ever put the pieces back.

* * *

Jack was walking along the snowy streets of Narvon, just enjoying the glory of the fresh snow. It was October 21st, seven years to the day since he lost his parents. Jack smiled. His mom would have loved his new friends and his dad would have had a blast teasing Aster. For the first time since he'd lost his family, Jack felt like he was making them proud.

Suddenly, his phone began buzzing in his pocket. The teen pulled it out, wondering who it was. The number was unfamiliar, but he recognized the area code: Burgess. He quickly hit the answer button and held the phone to his ear, "Hello?"

"Hi, Jack?"

He recognized the voice, too, even if it sounded like the man had a slight cold. Mr. Bennett only called when something major happened. Like the time Pippa had broken her arm. "What's wrong? Are they okay? Please tell me they're okay!"

"Everything's fine, but I wanted to ask a favor of you."

This startled Jack. The Bennetts had never asked for a favor before, "Yes?"

"Well, I'm sure that you know what today is. We've decided that it's time the twins learn about their family." Jack almost dropped the phone, "And we wanted to ask you to be there. You should be a part of this moment."

Jack stood in shocked silence.

"Jack, are you still there?"

The teen squeaked out a trembling, "Yes."

"I know this is terribly last minute, but it took a while for Mrs. Bennett to agree to invite you. It took a while for her to even agree to tell them. We're going to the grave site in a couple of hours. We'll understand if you don't want to be there, but we'd love it if you'd come."

"No, no, I'll be there. Thank you, Mr. Bennett."

"No, thank you, Jack. We've done wrong by you these last seven years. I know this isn't much, but it's time we started to make things right."

Jack almost cried at these words. He gave Mr. Bennett a hasty goodbye and rushed towards the bus stop. The next bus to Burgess would be leaving soon and Jack had to be on it. He didn't even bother to tell the Overlands he was leaving town or wonder how the Bennetts had gotten his cell phone number.

* * *

Jack's whole body felt frozen. He'd been waiting in the snow by his parents tomb for the Bennetts to arrive for well over three hours and he was finally starting to give up hope. He traced a finger along the marble surface of the gravestone and gave it a shaky smile. This was the one day of the year he normally avoided this place. Knowing another year had passed somehow made the memories too painful. "Sorry, Mom and Dad, here I am visiting and I didn't even bring flowers. Don't worry, though, I'll bring extra on Mom's birthday."

"Jack?"

Jack turned his gaze from the grave into the worried eyes of Pitch Black. He sniffed, blinking back tears, "Pitch? What are you doing here?"

The other teen seemed embarrassed and motioned to the flowers in his hand, an enormous bouquet of roses and baby's breath. "I was in Burgess to do some shopping and had some free time so I thought I'd swing by and leave these. I didn't think you'd be here."

Jack stared at the flowers and burst into tears. Pitch almost cooed in delight. It was almost too easy to manipulate Jack's emotions on the 21st. Instead, he knelt down and wrapped the crying teen in a fierce hug. "Jack, what's wrong?"

Somehow Jack managed to choke out what had happened as sobs began to shake his thin body. Pitch held him close. "Jack, I don't know what to say. Those horrible people. When will they stop hurting you like this?"

Jack just cried harder, clinging to Pitch with all his might. Pitch rose from the ground, pulling Jack with him.

"Come on, I'll take you home."

Jack nodded and allowed Pitch to lead him to back to his motorcycle. Pitch got on first and strapped on his helmet as Jack climbed on behind him. The broken teen was too busy crying to think about the fact that he didn't have his own helmet as Pitch took off into the growing dark.

* * *

Jack clutched the back of Pitch's leather jacket, sobbing as the two sped along the snowy highway. How could the Bennetts do this to him? It didn't make any sense. He'd done nothing to them. Was it because they were sick of Jack coming to see the twins? Had the Bennetts grown tired of the constant reminder of the past dampening their enjoyment of their children's achievements? He tried to make sure the Bennetts didn't see him when he came. Maybe he hadn't tried hard enough.

Another sob coursed through his body and he felt the motorcycle starting to slow down now. He'd been so busy crying he hadn't even opened his eyes on the ride home, but it was time for him to calm down. He needed to be able to move by the time they reached the Overland's house. By the time Pitch had stopped the bike, Jack had managed to calm his sobs enough that he could walk without collapsing into a blubbering mess. He got off the bike, ready to thank Pitch and walk inside, but they weren't at the Overlands. They were stopped on a back road in the middle of a snow-covered forest.

He looked around, confused, tears still streaking down his face, "Where are we, Pitch?"

The older boy snickered. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Jack spun towards Pitch, anger abruptly surging through him, and was met by a strong blow to the head. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious, and Pitch threw his helmet onto the snow covered earth. It was a good instrument to apply a little blunt-force trauma with. He got off the bike and studied Jack's form. The teen was wearing a thick winter coat, but little else that would keep him warm in the icy air. His face was covered in frozen trails of salty liquid and a few drops were still clinging to his eyelashes. A good size bump was probably forming under the snowy hair, but nothing was visible yet.

Proud of his work, Pitch knew he needed to move Jack away from the road to somewhere less easily found. He grabbed his former friend's legs and began to drag him along, searching for a spot, until they reached the edge of a frozen lake. A quick tug and Jack was on the ice. Pitch grinned and gave the limp form a final push so that it was resting in the middle of the lake. Then Pitch went back to his bike and grabbed some old strips of cloth. Soon, Jack's body was immobilized and an oil-stained rag was wrapped tightly around frozen lips.

Pitch looked down at his work and began to laugh. Jack was a strong boy. In a day or two Pitch would come back and take the nearly dead Jack to the hospital with some sob story about finding him while on a late night ride. He doubted the teen would actually remember what had happened with how deep into the onset of hypothermia he'd be by then. Even if he did, it would be seen as mad ravings of a delirious victim, mistaking his savior for his assailant. Jack would recover physically, but Pitch doubted his spirit would ever be the same. This would teach him to replace Pitch.


	10. Frozen danger

Ana was modeling her Halloween outfit in the mirror. The diminutive blonde had taken a while to figure out how to pull off the while tooth fairy thing, but she was rather pleased with the results. A pair of tight dark blue jeans had been covered with shimmering green scales that looked a bit like feathers. Her shirt was a tight, black tank top with a mixture of blue and green scales layer along it. A warm, cobalt blue peacoat and a pair of wings that she'd borrowed from the storage room completed the outfit. Downstairs the phone rang, but Ana's parents were home so she ignored it and continued to model the outfit.

"Ana!"

"Yeah mom?"

"Mrs. Overland's on the phone."

Ana grab her room's extension, "Hello?"

"Ana, dear, this is Mrs. Overland. Have you heard from Jack recently?" Mrs. Overland sounded terrified.

"No. What's happened?"

"He went out for a walk a few hours ago and never came home. We assumed he was with one of you kids, but when it started to get dark we started to worry. We've tried his phone, but he won't answer. He never ignores our calls."

Ana could feel her heart starting to speed up. They were right, Jack always answered his phone right away. "Have you tried the guys?"

"No, your home number is the only one we had. Jack gave it to us when you kids were having those daily meetings last month."

"Okay, I'll call the guys and see if they know anything."

"Thank you, dear."

* * *

"Great job, Sophie!" Aster was happily playing with his baby sister. Sophie loved to paint with her big brother and he loved helping her. They were working on fairies today.

The little girl beamed at the praise and hugged Aster, covering his shirt with pink and purple finger paint. He laughed and hugged her back, mentally congratulating himself for remembering to wear a shirt he didn't care about this time. "So, what should we paint now?"

"Bunnies! Hop, hop!"

"Okay, bunnies it is!"

"Aster draws. Sophie paints!"

"Right!" Sophie watched, enthralled, as her brother quickly sketched a pair of fluffy looking bunnies with a black Sharpie. As soon as he'd finished the picture she began to paint the image, completely obscuring Aster's sketch with green and purple finger paint. Aster thought it was a masterpiece.

"_Aye carumba, baby yeah. Aye carumba, baby…_" Aster rolled his eyes, turning his attention from his little artist, and grabbed his phone from his back pocket. Leave it to Ana to interrupt family time. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm not using this dumb song as your ring tone, Ana? How'd you even get a hold of my phone to change it?"

"Aster, Jack's missing."

He took a moment to process this news before replying, "What? What do you mean 'missing'?"

"The Overlands don't know where he is and he's not picking up his cell."

Aster felt a knot of fear beginning to form in his chest. "Did you try Nick and Sandy?"

"Nick's not picking up either, but that probably means that he's working in the workshop. I sent Sandy a text and he doesn't have a clue."

Aster stood up and Sophie made a noise of complaint at the fact she was suddenly being ignored. "Right, I'll borrow the car from my dad and we'll go out to Nick's place to see if Jack's there. Text Sandy and tell him we'll pick him up on the way."

"Aster, what if he isn't there?"

"Then we keep looking until we find him."

* * *

Jack wasn't with Nick. When the jolly teen had heard the news he'd immediately suited up in a warm winter jacket and volunteered to drive around in the sleigh, searching for Jack. Aster had vetoed the idea, instead suggesting that they check in with the Overlands and see what Jack's foster parents wanted them to do first. This had led to the four teens crowding around Aster's phone in Nick's workshop as they waited for the Overlands to pick up.

"Hello?" The trembling voice of Mrs. Overland answered the phone.

"Mrs. Overland, it's Aster and the gang. Jack isn't with any of us, but we want to help search for him. What do you need us to do?"

Mrs. Overland gave an anguished moan, "I don't know. Mr. Overland went into Burgess and checked the Frost's grave and he found a huge bouquet of flowers, but no Jack."

"Why'd he check the Frost's grave?"

"Today's the anniversary of the day Jack's parents died. Usually he never goes into Burgess today, but we thought we may as well check since he wasn't anywhere else we could think of. We don't know where else to look."

Aster clenched the phone tighter in his grasp, "No one has seen him?"

"No! We've called everyone we could think of. Jack doesn't have any friends other than you four, so there aren't many places he could be."

When Aster got his hands on Jack he was going to put a tracking collar on the boy. As the thought crossed his mind, Aster almost dropped his phone. A tracking collar! "Jack's phone! The ruddy thing has a GPS!"

On the other end of the line Mrs. Overland gave a cry of excitement and the rest of the gang grinned at Aster.

"Mrs. Overland, we've got to go now. We'll call you if this works." Aster snapped the phone shut and looked over at his Russian friend, "Nick, we need to use your computer!"

* * *

Jack awoke to find himself surrounded by near darkness. The only light came from the stars high above. He was so cold. He tried to move his arms, but found them tightly bound. He tried to cry out, but there was apparently something covering his mouth. The fact that he couldn't feel it touching his lips terrified him. How long had he been like this?

Jack couldn't remember. He tried to recall how he'd gotten here, but all he could remember was a foggy vision of crying at his parent's grave. That's right, now he remembered Mr. Bennett's call. Jack blinked back newly-forming tears. What was the point of going on when the people he loved didn't even know he existed. Jack closed his eyes, ready to give up, when he felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket. His phone. Aster.

He remembered how embarrassed the taller teen had been when he gave Jack the gift and the smiles on the faces of his other friends when he'd opened the present. He remembered Sandy programming all of their numbers into the light blue piece of technology while Ana had assigned each of them a ring tone. He remembered Nick insisting his ringtone be that stupid Chipmunk Christmas song. More memories came flooding back to him. Ana asking him for help with homework. Playing with the minis. Sandy's silent breed of humor. Aster's gruff exterior slipping back to show the passionate artist he was as he painted. Nick teaching him how to do woodworking. People he loved did know he existed, his friends. How could he give up on them?

Jack tried to move, but found the ground beneath him had no friction. Ice. He let out a growl of frustration and the weakness of his voice made Jack's heart pound. He continued to struggle, but he could feel his motions starting to become even more sluggish. He had to get out of here soon or he was going to freeze to death.

* * *

The GPS locater seemed to have worked, but when the teens followed the directions in the sleigh they suddenly weren't so sure. They were on a snow covered back road, miles from any sort of civilization. When Nick stopped the car Aster looked out into the night gloom and groaned. "There's no way he's out there. How would Jack have even got here?"

Ana shrugged. "Who knows, but we might as well look. The Overlands have already covered the town and he's got to be somewhere."

Sandy nodded and jumped out of the car.

"Sandy, you need a flashlight!"

The smaller teen turned around and was about to come back to the car when he noticed something. There were strange marks in the snow, like something had been dragged into the forest.

Suddenly wary, Sandy ignored the calls of his friends and began to follow the tracks. The others realized what had fascinated him and followed, bringing along a pair of flashlights from Nick's glove compartment.

The trail led them to the edge of a frozen lake. Sandy pointed across the frozen water and Nick shined his flashlight onto the lake. In the center of the ice lay a body, bound and gagged. "Jack!"

Aster dropped his flashlight and ran across the ice, sliding to a stop by Jack's body. He knelt down and rolled the freezing boy over as the others carefully followed him out onto the ice.

Jack's skin was even paler than normal and streaks of frozen tears covered his face, but he was awake and, when Aster removed the gag, he was smiling. Delirious blue eyes looked up at the group and the frozen boy managed to choke out "You came" before collapsing into unconsciousness in Aster's arms.

* * *

Even after the doctors had declared him out of the danger zone, Jack remained comatose, and every day the gang would come and sit in his hospital room, talking to their unconscious friend and waiting for him to wake up. All plans for the Christmas fair were pushed from their minds as worry for Jack consumed them. No one knew how Jack had wound up on that lake, but the authorities were conducting a full investigation. The gang didn't really care, though, they just wanted their friend back. The image of Jack's frozen, tear-stained face was haunting all of them.

Then came the day that they walked into the room to find a weak looking, but awake, Jack smiling at them. Really smiling.

Ana had immediately started crying before rushing forward and wrapping her arms around Jack. "You're finally back with us."

The others had joined her, wrapping Jack in a massive hug.

Jack was laughing weakly, loving the attention, "I guess you guys need me too much for me to die just yet."

The hug broke apart and Nick gave the teen a massive pat on the back, "We need you too much for you to die, ever!"

Jack laughed again, his smile growing even wider.

Aster stared at him, "How can you be so calm, mate? You almost died!"

Jack looked around at his friends, still smiling, "Yeah, but you guys saved me. How could I not be happy knowing that I finally have friends like you?"


	11. aftermath

Jack soon fell back asleep. According to the nurse, he'd only just woken up when they arrived and he was still exhausted from his ordeal. The gang decided to hang around in case he woke up again, so they sat in the white-walled hospital room and waited. He soon woke up again, but this time he wasn't smiling. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were darting around the room wildly, "Pitch! Where's Pitch?"

Ana was by his side in a second. She took his hand in hers and gently stroked it, "Jack, it's okay, it's okay. They found Pitch, too."

His eyes stopped their constant motion and focused on Ana, "Found Pitch?"

"Yes, when the police went to search the area where we found you they found Pitch as well. He was nearly frozen and had been beaten up pretty badly, but he's alive. He woke up a few days ago, but he hasn't spoken to anyone."

* * *

Pitch could hardly believe his good fortune at finding the frozen pond. Even if Jack awoke, the ice would make it near impossible for the weakened teen to move around. He'd stay right where Pitch left him until it was time for Pitch to "rescue" him. Pleased with his work, Pitch went back to his bike, hopped on, and started to make his way back to Narvon. As he reached the edges of the town, however, a thought struck him. Just how long had Jack been sitting out in the snow by the Frost's grave? Three, maybe four, hours? And he'd been crying the entire ride into the forest, too. Pitch pursed his lips, the elation starting to fade as he realized Jack might not be able to survive as long as he'd guessed. He didn't want Jack dead, just broken. A dead Jack would do him no good.

Pitch stopped the bike and turned around, beginning to retrace his path. He'd go back to the woods and wait where he could keep an eye on Jack. Once the boy had awoken and spent a good hour or two sobbing then Pitch would take him home. When he reached the woods, however, he found he couldn't remember where he'd stopped the first time. Annoyed with himself, Pitch parked his bike well off the road, grabbed a flashlight from his bike bag, and began to walk through the woods, searching for the lake. When he finally found it, though, Jack was gone. At first Pitch had just assumed the other boy had somehow been able to scoot off the lake and into the woods, but further searching revealed four new sets of foot prints and a set of jeep tracks. Pitch shouted a curse. Someone had found Jack and he could just guess who.

This was bad. When Jack awoke there would be no way for Pitch to explain what had happened since he was uninjured. He began to debate what to do when another thought struck him. Surely they'd send police out to search the area for clues, right? What if another body was found? Pitch sighed, he was going to have to give up ever retrieving his motorcycle if people were going to believe this one. That thought hurt more than the pain he was about to inflict on himself, but it was a small price to pay to stay out of jail.

Without another thought Pitch smashed his body into a tree. Blood trickled down his face from a tiny gash the bark had given him, but he ignored it and threw himself into another tree. He had to hurry if he wanted to finish before the cops arrived. He wondered how hard it would be to break his own leg.

* * *

"Pitch was attacked, too?" Jack was totally lost now. Ana had told him about how the cops had found Pitch, battered and bruised in the forest near Jack's lake, but he was still trying to put together the pieces.

"Yeah, what did you think happened to him?" Aster had come to stand by the bed as well, looking concerned at Jack's obvious confusion. The nurse had warned them that the blow to Jack's head could have damaged his memories.

"I…" Jack tried to remember those last few moments. He remembered asking Pitch why they'd gone to the middle of the woods and Pitch had said something and then… nothing. What had Pitch even said? It was all so blurry now. "I don't know. I guess I thought he'd attacked me, but that doesn't even make sense. Why would Pitch attack me?"

Aster shrugged. If he'd been asked that question a week ago he'd have said, "Because the guy is a full-blown loony," but that didn't seem the appropriate way to describe an assault victim. "What do you remember?"

Looking a little lost, Jack told them of his last lucid moments, "Pitch was taking me home, or at least I thought he was, but we went to the middle of the woods for some reason. I got off the bike and asked Pitch why we were there. I think he said something in reply, but then something struck me in that back of the head and the memory ends. The next thing I knew I'd woken up on a slab of ice, bound and gagged."

The gang winced, remembering how they'd found Jack. It wasn't a pleasant memory.

Just then the door burst open and Mrs. Overland came rushing in. When she saw Jack sitting up and talking, her whole face lit up in a warm smile, "Jack! I just got off work. I wanted to come as soon as I heard you'd woken up, but the nurse told me not to rush since you'd probably be back asleep by the time I got here and I couldn't just rush off and leave the desk unmanned, but I wanted to come as soon as I heard…"

He interrupted her, "You're babbling, Mom."

Aster and Ana moved back, allowing Mrs. Overland room to stand by Jack. She smiled and walked to his side, lightly brushing back his hair and checking his temperature. Jack batted her hand away. "I'm fine, really! Just a little tired."

"Jackson Nathaniel Frost, you have just woken up from a coma. I am allowed to be worried!"

Laughing, Jack made a gesture of surrender and leaned back onto his pillow, allowing his foster mother to fuss over him. When she'd finally stopped examining her foster son and had removed her hands Jack spoke. "How's Pitch?"

Mrs. Overland started slightly at the question, but gave Jack a sad smile. "Well, his leg is broken, and he's not talking to anyone, but the doctors have said he's physically fine."

"Can I see him?"

Now she looked nervous. "I don't know if that's such a good idea, Jack. You only just woke up."

"Come on, can we at least ask the nurse, please?" Jack widened his eyes, the picture of innocence. The fact that he could still pull off this trick at seventeen marveled Mrs. Overland, but it worked nonetheless.

"Oh, alright. I'll go ask."

* * *

Hospitals were terribly boring places, especially when you had to constantly keep up the devastated victim act. Pitch had been brought to the hospital just a few hours after he'd beaten himself up and his wounds were mostly gone by now, save for the broken leg, but he'd been keeping up the dead eyed routine all week. He had to wait until Jack was out of his coma and had told people what he remembered before Pitch could tell people his version of events. He had to make sure their stories matched.

A knock on the door and Pitch turned his head, making sure his face was a mask of desperation and fear. This was so tedious. A plump nurse with curly black hair stuck her head in and smiled at him. "Pitch, dear, you have a visitor!"

He nodded mutely, barely acknowledging her statement. _Let me guess, my idiotic mother come to weep over her poor baby once more. How pathetic._

It wasn't his mother, though. Instead, a wary-eyed Aster rolled Jack in on a wheelchair. Jack smiled and gave Pitch a tired wave. "Guess who's back?"

_Finally. _Pitch widened his eyes and let out a whispered, "Jack?"

Tears formed and began gently streaking down his pale skin. He spoke, making sure his voice was weakened and hoarse. "You're alive! When those monsters hit you I… I thought for sure you were never going to wake up."

Aster looked stunned and let go of Jack's chair, taking in the sight of a seemingly broken Pitch. Jack, meanwhile, wheeled the chair to Pitch's side and took the other's hand in his. "It's okay, Pitch. I'm fine."

Pitch continued to cry silently, holding onto Jack's hand as tightly as he could. The nurse ran from the room to fetch the doctor and tell him that Pitch was finally talking. As Jack murmured words of comfort Pitch knew his plan was working. _So far, so good._

* * *

Once Pitch learned that Jack had no real memory of what happened he told his story. How he'd taken Jack out into the woods to take a walk and talk with him, knowing nature often calmed the snowy-haired boy. How a group of drunken thugs had come out of the woods, jumped them, and knocked Jack out. How Pitch had tried to fight back, but had been overpowered and left in the middle of the woods to die while the monsters had stolen his bike and taken Jack somewhere else.

Pitch told how he'd tried to get up, tried to find Jack, but he hadn't been able to move his leg. He sobbed crocodile tears as he recounted thinking he'd gotten his best friend killed. It was a heart-wrenching sight.

Everyone believed him.

* * *

Jack and Pitch were finally being released from the hospital. The doctors had insisted the two boys stay for an extra few days until they made sure everything was okay, but those days had now passed. Since it was Monday and the Overlands were still at work, the gang had offered to pick Jack up once he was able to leave. They arrived in the sleigh as soon as school was over and waited eagerly for him to be brought down. They cheered when he was wheeled out of the hospital and he gave them all a big thumbs up. Pitch watched this exchange in fury from the doorway. His mother wouldn't be off work for another couple of hours and he was stuck in this accursed place until then. The nurse had wanted him to wait in his room, but he had insisted on being brought to the door to see Jack leave.

Sandy saw the other teen watching the group through the door and pointed at him. Words were exchanged, but Pitch couldn't tell what they group was talking about. Then, to his horror, Aster Bunnymund was walking up the concrete path towards him. What could that idiot possibly want with Pitch?

"Do you want a ride home?"

This was unexpected. "Excuse me?"

Aster pointed at Pitch, "Do you," he pointed to the Jeep, "want a ride," then he motioned towards town, "home?"

"I, um, uh, what?" Pitch stammered out the words, quite certain he'd lost his mind at this point. Aster _hated_ him.

The Australian had clearly sensed the other's confusion and tried to explain the offer, "Listen, we may have had our differences, but you're Jack's friend and we can't just leave you here in this place while the five of us go celebrate Jack's release."

"I'm quite certain you could, actually."

Aster glowered, "Do you want the ride or not?"

Deal with the idiots or be stuck in this place for another few hours. There really was only one choice. "Sure."

And thus Pitch found himself shoved in the back of a peppermint scented Jeep listening to Christmas carols. As Mariah Carey belted out, "_They're singing deck the halls, but it's not like Christmas at all..._" Pitch wondered if it wouldn't have been better to stay at the hospital.


	12. Return to the Normal

The gang dropped Pitch off at his home with waves and cries of, "See you at school."

Pitch smiled at the departing vehicle and gave them all a tired wave. He didn't have to fake the tiredness, just being in that Christmassy monster of a car for fifteen minutes had drained him. How could any of them stand it?

Once they were gone the smile morphed into a calculating smirk as Pitch entered his home. He'd known that his act would have the police fooled, but he'd even been able to convince those try-hards that he really cared about Jack. This was certainly an unexpected development, but it was one he could definitely use to his advantage. He stalked through the dark house, his crutches making scratching sounds on the floor, not bothering to turn on the lights, thinking.

Plan A had not been a total disaster, it seemed. If he could gain their trust and get into the group, then maybe he could still pull this off. Jack had already offered to ask if he could join once before. Maybe it was time to see if that offer still stood.

* * *

Jack leaned on crossed arms against his windowsill, staring out into the snow-covered back yard. He was finally back in his own room. The past few days had been a blur of tests, visitors, police interviews, and exhaustion. Now he was finally alone with a solid chunk of guaranteed free time. It was a nice feeling and he needed some time to think. He'd almost died, after all. It bothered him that he couldn't remember most of the events that had lea up to his being stranded in the woods. All he really remembered from that day was a blurry image of his parent's grave and those last few seconds before he was knocked out. Pitch had told him how they'd gone to visit the gravesite together and how Jack had started crying, leading to the surprise visit to the woods. He wished he could remember all the details.

Jack turned his gaze from the outside world and over to his bedside table. On it stood a single picture of his family – his _real_ family. Jamie was in his father's arms and Pippa was in his mother's, while Jack stood between the two adults. They were all laughing and smiling. The picture had been taken the day before the fire and had survived only because the prints were still at the shop.

Jack leaned his head sideways against the chilly glass, looking into the smiling faces of his parents. "I really let you two down, didn't I? You were always doing good and helping people, but I…"

He pressed his forehead to the chilled glass once more, a sardonic smile gracing his lips, "…I gave up. I stopped trying to make people smile. For the past seven years I've been doing nothing but causing mischief and letting the world drag me along with it. It's like, when I lost you two, I lost the part of me that cared."

Silence filled the room as Jack continued to stare out into the winter scene, thinking. "I haven't even skated or sung since that day. I threw away everything you two gave me – even Jamie and Pippa."

He felt like he should want to cry right now, but he didn't. Instead, he felt strangely calm as he spoke to the memory of his parents. "There's a piece of my heart that died with you and it's never going to come back. No one can ever take your place, but that doesn't mean that I can't give other pieces of my heart away. If I'm so afraid of it breaking again that I never use it, isn't that like breaking it?"

He stepped away from the window now and moved to his bed. He sat down on the periwinkle-blue sheets and picked up the picture, tracing his fingers over the image. "I'm sorry, Mom, Dad. I'm sorry I stopped being me, but that's changing. I'm making people smile again. I'm helping out with a children's fair, just like the summer festival you two used to throw. I'm going to stop coasting along and start living."

He hugged the picture to his chest, his eyes closed, "Thank you for everything you gave me. I love you."

Jack stayed like that for a long time, until he heard the front door open. Mrs. Overland was home. He placed the picture back on the nightstand and left his room, making his way downstairs to greet her. He reached the bottom of the stairs as she was taking off her snow boots. He leaned against the stairwell's banister and said, "Welcome home, Mom."

She smiled at her foster son and opened her mouth to greet him when she registered what he'd called her. Jack had always called the Overlands Mr. and Mrs. Overland or Sir and Madam, but here he was calling her "Mom" for the second time in the past week. She'd just assumed that he'd been too out of it at the hospital to realize he was calling her that.

Jack grinned at her shyly, "A long time ago you said I could call you that if I'd like to. I think I'd like to."

She finished taking off her shoes, walked over to the waiting teen, and took him in her arms. "I'd really like that, Jack."

* * *

Despite the Overland's concerns regarding the matter, Jack decided he wanted to go back to school the next day. They reluctantly agreed, but only it Jack would let one of them drive him there and if Nick agreed to bring Jack home. A phone call later, Jack had secured Nick's help and so, at 7:30 the next morning, Jack woke up his foster parents and a bleary-eyed Mr. Overland drove the teen to school. "Have a good day back, Jack, and if you get too tired, give us a call and we'll come get you."

He laughed and gave his foster father the okay sign. "Alright, Dad."

Mr. Overland smiled at the endearment and Jack stepped out of the car into the crisp October air. Across the parking lot, Ana, Aster, Nick, and Sandy were sitting in the sleigh, waiting for his arrival. It felt good to be back.

Sandy opened the cherry red door and scooted over as Jack joined the group. "Morning, everyone!"

Sandy gave him a welcoming smile as the others verbally greeted him. They were all glad to have their newest member back. It had surprised them just how much they'd missed Jack while he was gone. It was like all the fun had been drained out of the group.

Ana leaned forward, resting her chin on top of Sandy's head, and smiled at Jack. The smaller boy crossed his arms, not exactly pleased at being used as a perch, while Ana spoke. "So, are you cleared to be a part of Halloween tomorrow, or am I taking the minis out by myself?"

Sandy shook his head, knocking Ana off before Jack could reply, and began waving his finger at her.

The other three boys laughed at the sight. It was weird watching someone get so thoroughly chastised without the scolder uttering a word. Then Jack spoke, "You know, Sandy, I don't think I've ever actually asked you why you don't talk around us. I know I've seen you answer questions when a teacher asks you something."

Sandy raised an eyebrow and motioned to Ana, clearly giving her rights to explain.

She huffed, still slightly embarrassed from the scolding, but complied. "His mom gets really bad migraines where even the smallest noise can cause her physical pain, and his dad works the night shift at the hospital, meaning he's asleep during a good portion of the day. Sandy's never been allowed to make much noise at home and he got really good at communicating via motions and looks. He's just more comfortable when he doesn't have to talk and we can understand him perfectly, so it's never been an issue."

Sandy nodded, clearly pleased with Ana's explanation.

"Your dad works at the hospital?"

Nick answered this time, "Yeah, how else did you think we were able to get into your room and basically live there last week? Sandy's dad is the head of the ER during the night shift."

"Whoa!"

Sandy was clearly pleased at Jack's reaction and winked at him.

Aster joined in the conversation now. "Yeah, that's why Sandy spends Halloween night at the hospital, bringing treats to all the sick kids."

"And we always help him." Nick motioned to Aster and himself.

Ana shrugged, "You know I would if I could, but I've got minis to take around."

"Actually, I can't do the hospital this year," said Aster. "Ana, I've been meaning to ask you – can I tag along with you instead?"

Ana looked at him in surprise while Sandy and Nick frowned, "Huh?"

"Sophie's finally old enough to go trick-or-treating and I promised her that I'd take her."

Sandy's face adopted an understanding smile and he gave Aster a thumbs up of approval while Nick said, "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"I was a little busy freaking out over a certain comatose friend of ours, in case you forgot. We haven't even talked about taking treats around until now!"

It was true. The gang had just sort of stopped functioning until today. Jack looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry, guys, I didn't mean to…"

"Jackson Nathaniel Frost, don't you dare apologize!"

The look of astonishment on Jack's face sent the other boys into fits of laughter while Ana held back a smile, continuing to fix Jack with a stern gaze. "You are not allowed to be sorry for something totally out of your control. Understood?"

"Where in the world did you learn my full name?"

Aster had an arm propped on the glove compartment, his head leaned against it, grinning. "At the hospital, Jackson."

Sandy was holding back another fit of laughter as Jack glared at Aster. "You are never to call me that. Ever."

Aster's grin grew slightly wider. He'd missed the play fights with Jack more than he cared to admit, "But it's your name."

"No, my name is Jack."

"I think you'll find that's a _nick_name."

"Aster," Jack drew out the name, turning it into a whine, "Jackson is an old man's name!"

"Then I guess you're an old man, Jackson."

A wicked gleam suddenly grew in Ana's eyes, "Well, if you're going to call him by his given name, shouldn't he call you by yours?"

Aster paled, "Don't you dare, Ana. That's not fair."

Jack was intrigued, "His name isn't Aster?"

"Oh, it is, but it's his _middle_ name."

"Ana, come on, please don't."

"Don't what, _Emerson_?"

Aster hid his face in his hands as the car filled with laughter. "My stupid mother and her love for that bloody poet. Why'd she have to tell you my name?"

Ana was beaming, and Jack gave her a gleefully-appreciative smile as Sandy stopped laughing and pointed to his wrist.

"Sandy's right – we need to get going for class. We're going to be late!" Nick cried, throwing open the driver's door. The other's followed, not wanting to be late, but as Jack split off from the group and rushed towards the entrance closest to his classroom, he called back to Ana, "Don't worry – I'll be your winter prince tomorrow night!"

* * *

"Come on, Pip! Hurry up!" Jamie was jumping up and down by the door, shouting for his twin. Halloween was finally here and Pippa was soon going to be wasting precious candy gathering time making sure her outfit looked "perfect."

Pippa appeared at the top of the steps, her long brown hair tied back in a neat braid, a white cap perched upon her head, and a knee-length brown dress clinging tightly to her thin frame. "Not all of us are going as something as simple as a mummy, Jamie."

Her brother waved a bandage covered arm at her. "Hey, it took a lot of time to get wrapped up in these things."

She rolled her eyes and hurried down the steps to his side. "Well, I'm ready now!"

"Great, let's go!"

At the sound of her children, Mrs. Bennett emerged from the kitchen, "Hold on you two, I need a picture of this before you go."

She rushed to grab her camera as Mr. Bennett came out of his study to admire the costumes, "Now, Claude's older brother will be going with your little group, right?"

The twins nodded and chorused, "Yes!"

He smiled and leaned down to wrap them both in a tight hug, "Good. You both look wonderful!

Pippa giggled and Jamie grinned. "Thanks, Dad!"

Mrs. Bennett returned with her camera and the twins positioned themselves for the picture. A flash of light and the image of the two was immortalized in pixels. "There, now you can go."

Jamie threw open the door, but his mother stopped him, "Wait, don't you need a jacket, honey? It's cold out there!"

Jamie moaned as Mrs. Bennett made the twins bundle up. "You don't want Jack Frost nipping at your nose."

As soon as the words had left her mouth a troubled expression crossed Mrs. Bennett's face. It was a saying her mother had always used when she was young and it had just slipped out. Mr. Bennett saw her turmoil and gave his wife a sad smile. The twins were too excited to notice their parent's sudden change in attitude and Pippa replied with a joking, "Don't worry mom, I'm sure Jack Frost has much better things to do than bother us."


	13. Halloween

"Pretty!" Sophie twirled around, showing her big brother her outfit. Aster stifled a laugh. His mother had bought the little girl a full, glitter-covered, pink fairy dress for tonight. Sophie had thrown the costume's neon pink fairy wings on over her favorite pair of pajamas, completely ignoring the dress, and declared herself ready. She looked adorable, but the exasperation on his mother's face was clear.

Mrs. Bunnymund sighed and gave her son a look that said, "What can you do?"

He shrugged and turned his attention back to tonight's star.

"You look beautiful, Sophie." Aster declared, picking up the little girl and kissing her cheek.

Sophie giggled. "Sophie turn!"

Aster turned his cheek, allowing the little girl to press rosy lips to his tanned skin. At her insistence, he was wearing cowboy style boots, black pants, a black vest over a puffy-white button-up shirt, and a black gaucho hat. In other words, a Zorro outfit. Sophie was currently in love with Puss in Boots and this was as close to the sword-wielding cat as Aster was willing to go. "So, Soph, how do I look?"

"Down!" Once she was back on the ground the child circled her brother, taking in the outfit, before grinning up at him in approval. A camera flash turned Aster's attention back to his mother with a glare.

She winked at her annoyed child. "It was the only way I was going to get a picture of you and you know it."

Aster didn't bother to argue about the picture, giving all his attention back to Sophie. He smiled down at the two year old and offered her his hand. The little girl placed her tiny palm inside his and allowed her big brother to guide her to the house's front door and out into the night. Trick-or-treating was to start in about fifteen minutes, and it was time to head to Ana's house to meet up with her, Jack, and the minis.

* * *

Jack stood before the mirror in Ana's room, staring at himself. A deep blue cloak with a silver snowflake clasp was draped from his shoulders, trailing down to the ground. Tiny frost patters decorated the top of the cape and trailed off where the fabric no longer met skin. On his torso he wore a form-fitting black V-neck that made his completion seem even paler. Over this shirt was a cobalt-blue vest with tiny frost decals. His pants were pocketless, tight, and a snowy-winter-sky grey. To complete the ensemble, Ana had draped a sliver chain along his neck, from which hung a smooth piece of blue marble. He looked _good_.

"So, what do you think?" Ana wrapped her arms around his torso and peeked over his shoulder. "It's incredible, Ana!" He ran his hands over the soft fabric, impressed with his new look. "I had no idea you were this artistic!"

"Yeah, well, Aster's the painter, North's the carver, Sandy's the imaginer, and I'm the crafty one."

Jack was going to reply, but Baby and the other little girls burst in on the teens, tired of waiting. It had taken a promise of a story just to get them to allow him to change in the first place. They'd all been worried about Jack ever since they learned he'd been hurt and were reluctant to let him out of their sight. However, instead of crowding around him, they all stopped just inside the door and stared at Jack with wide, violet eyes.

Following behind them was a handsome-looking Aster with an adorable little blonde in his arms. He took one look at Jack and let out a low whistle. "Ana, you've outdone yourself."

Sophie was struggling now, wanting to be put down. Aster complied, and the little girl ran over to Jack, grabbing his cape and running it through chubby fingers. "Soft!"

Jack chuckled and bent down to Sophie's level. He smiled at the new child and held out a hand. "Hello there, you must be Sophie."

Sophie let go of the cloak and stared at Jack, starstruck. She reached out and placed a tiny hand on his face, as if making sure he was real, then glanced back at Aster and cried, "Aster, look! Prince!"

Laughter poured from pale lips at this and Jack lightly ruffled the child's hair. "I don't know about being called a prince…"

Baby interrupted, "No, you're the winter prince!"

The other minis chimed in agreement, and Jack laughed once more, blushing now. "Okay, I'm the winter prince. I don't have a crown, though."

"Oh, I knew I forgot something!" Ana rushed out of the room, only to return with a sparkling silver circlet. "The girls picked this out for you when we went shopping for their outfits."

She handed Jack the crown, and he looked at it for a moment before handing it to Baby and bowing low before her. "Would the princess do me the honor of placing my crown?"

Baby beamed with pleasure and came to stand before Jack as the other girls giggled with excitement. Once she'd placed the circlet he stood up, allowing Ana to admire the finished outfit. "Better?"

The girls grinned in admiration and surrounded Jack, all babbling for his attention. Sophie, still standing by Jack's side, was a little overwhelmed by the noise so Jack scooped her into his arms. She seemed very pleased with this new position and began playing with his pendant while he talked with the rest of his fans.

Ana backed out into the hall and motioned for Aster to follow. He did. "What's up?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to give Jack some alone time with his fan club, and I'm making you help me get all the trick-or-treat bags together and go over the walking route with my folks while he does so."

Aster looked back into the room and watched as Jack said something that made Sophie laugh. The little girl seemed perfectly content to stay in Jacks arms, so Aster followed Ana downstairs, knowing his baby sister was in good hands.

* * *

Since coming home from the hospital, Pitch had been the perfect son. His mother was thrilled! Her son was finally starting to be a productive member of society. He'd even volunteered to _hand out candy_ on Halloween.

Just making the offer had made Pitch nauseous. Here he was, though, answering the door for adorable child after adorable child. Ten minutes down and an eternity to go. This had better play out like he hoped.

Twenty minutes later he was opening the door for five lookalikes in princess dresses, a little fairy girl, Aster Bunnymund, Ana Romoli, and a stunning Jack Frost. What in the world was he dressed as?

Pitch smiled shyly and held the candy dish out to the little girls. As they chose their treats he addressed their escorts, keeping his eyes low, "Hey."

Ana and Aster had adopted uncomfortable smiles, not really sure how to act around Pitch anymore, but Jack was grinning. "Hey, Pitch. How's your leg?"

Pitch looked up at them now and shrugged, still smiling. "It's not fun, but I'm getting pretty good with the crutches. I think I'm going to try and go to school tomorrow."

Jack frowned, "But doesn't your mom have to be at work by, like, six? How are you going to get there?"

"Walk? Well, with the crutches it's more like hobble, but you know what I mean."

The little girls were getting anxious now, clearly wanting to be off to the next house. Jack turned to Ana and Aster. "Hey, go ahead and go on without me, I'll be right there."

They looked a bit uncomfortable abandoning Jack, but the tugs of their charges convinced them to move on. Once they'd left the conversation continued. "My dad's been driving me to school every day. I can probably get him to give you a lift if you'd like."

Pitch smiled gratefully, "That would be wonderful, Jack."

"Great! I'll give you a call when I get home!" Jack waved goodbye and hurried off after his pack, his cape flowing behind him. Pitch smiled and waved after the retreating figure as he closed the door. Once Jack could no longer see him, though, the kind smile changed into a satisfied smirk. This was just too easy.

"Mom, I'm a little tuckered out and my leg's hurting. Would you mind if I just went to bed?"

Mrs. Black came out of the kitchen and looked at her son. He certainly looked exhausted, "Of course, sweetie. Are you sure you're going to be okay going to school tomorrow?"

"Don't worry, Jack Frost's foster father is going to give me a lift."

His mother smiled and gave Pitch a firm hu., "It's nice to see you two talking again, but try to keep Jack in line this time. Don't let him lead you into any of those nasty pranks he'd trick you into helping with."

His mother had never bought into the reports that her son was the ringleader, even after the fire. "It's fine, Mother. I'll make sure Jack learns to follow my example from now on."

* * *

Trick-or-treating was finally over. Aster carried a sleeping Sophie tightly in his arms while Jack held her candy bag. They'd left Ana and the minis at the Romoli's house and were now taking the sleeping girl home.

"She's really cute," Jack said, smiling at Sophie.

Aster leaned down and rubbed his nose against his sleeping sister's. "She's the most adorable thing in the world."

Jack laughed. "I'd never picture you as the doting older brother."

"I wouldn't have either, but then my mom had Sophie. I'd always done all this stuff for kids: Easter egg hunts, collection drives, plays, but I never really spent any time around the kids. I never got to know them. Sophie changed all that. She's the most important thing in the world now."

Jack smiled softly, his eyes focusing on something Aster couldn't see. "Little sisters are the best. They can always make you smile."

Aster didn't say anything. He knew Jack was talking about Pippa now, but Jack didn't know Aster knew that.

Jack seemed to realize this and he stopped talking. Then he stopped walking and sighed, "You know, I have a little sister."

Aster stopped walking as well and turned around, focusing all his attention on Jack. "Yeah?"

Jack nodded, his frosty eyes focused on the night sky, "Her name's Pippa. She's ten years old now, but she loves to act all grown up. Why do kids do that anyway? Childhood ends so fast! They should enjoy it!"

A chilly breeze whipped past the boys and Sophie shivered. Jack noticed the motion out of the corner of his eye and shook his head, "Come on, we should get her home."

They continued on once more. Aster remained silent, waiting to follow Jack's lead, but the pale teen said nothing. They reached the Bunnymund home and knocked. Mr. Bunnymund answered the door and took his sleeping daughter from Aster. "I'll go put her to bed."

Normally, Aster would offer to do it himself, but he sensed Jack needed him to stay. "Okay, I'm going to walk some of the way with Jack."

"Why don't you two take the car? It's getting pretty cold out there and those costumes can't be too warm."

"Thanks, Dad."

* * *

So far, neither teen had said a word and they were almost to the Overland's home. When Aster turned onto Jack's street, though, the costumed boy finally spoke, "I guess you guys have probably guessed that the Overland's aren't my real parents by now, haven't you?"

Aster remained motionless, eyes focused on the road.

Jack leaned his head against the window and stared into the darkness. "I should have told you this a while ago, but I… I just didn't know if I could trust you. After what happened, though, I don't know how I could _not_ trust you."

Aster pulled over to the side of the road by a tiny park and shut off the car. "Alright, so tell."

Jack laughed, "I don't really know where to start. I guess it all began with the fire."

"I was ten years old and my family was living in Burgess. It was a terribly cold night, so cold that my dad decided to light a fire in the living room hearth for extra warmth. He'd done it a thousand times before, but something went wrong this time. Instead of dying out after we'd gone to bed, some of the embers flew onto the newspaper my mother had left lying nearby. At least, that's why the firemen said. Anyway, they caught fire and soon the whole room was engulfed in flames.

"We probably would have all died that night, but my mom must have gotten thirsty or something, because I woke up to her shaking me awake. She looked so scared, but her voice was steady. She had me slip on shoes and follow her to the twin's bedroom. Jamie and Pippa, my baby brother and sister, were only three years old. She picked up Pippa and I carried Jamie piggyback out of the house. We got outside, but my dad wasn't there. He'd always been a heavy sleeper. My mom put down Pippa and told me to watch the twins until she got back. Then she rushed back into the flames.

"It was three in the morning, so no one was awake and I didn't know what to do, so I sat there and held the twins and waited. We were still waiting when the firemen finally arrived. Someone must have seen the flames and called 911, but it was too late. My parents were gone."

Jack was still staring into the night. Aster felt like he was going to be sick. What a way to go.

"They took us to the hospital, but we were all fine. Jamie and Pippa didn't know what was going on. They were so scared. They kept crying and asking for parents that were never going to come. A few days later a smiling couple, the Bennetts, came to see us in our hospital room. I knew them. They lived a few streets over and the woman had always told my mother how cute the twins were when we were out for a walk, but she never even glanced at me. I should have known then that they were there for the twins and not me. I found out that was the case soon enough, though. I remember Pippa sobbing when they took her away from me. She thought I was never going to come back, too. I didn't even fight. I was still trying to wake up from the nightmare.

"It wasn't a nightmare, though. The Overlands came for me the next day and I went home with them. The first couple of days I just lay in my new room, wishing I were dead. Wishing that I'd run to a neighbor's house and called for help. It took a long time before I was willing to do anything more than the basics to keep myself alive."

Aster wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. If Jack had been a child he would have wrapped him in his arms, but Jack wasn't a child and Aster was lost.

"Even when I started to move around again I wasn't really living. It was mostly an act. Get up, go to school, do homework, sleep, smile. I didn't even try to make friends at my new school. If I made new friends, that meant that I was acknowledging my new life, and I wasn't ready for that. It got me labeled a loner and I lost any chance I had at making friends when I finally woke up from my stupor."

Jack turned back to Aster, his eyes were shining with unshed tears, but he was smiling. "Boy, am I a killjoy or what?"

Aster gulped. "No, you're probably the most joyful person I know. No one else could tell a story like that and still have a smile on his face."

Jack laughed, "I have a lot of practice at smiling when I feel like crying."

He leaned back in the car's seat and closed his eyes. "We've been here for ten minutes already and I haven't even gotten to the point of this little story."

Aster shrugged. "It's not like I've got anything to do tonight. I'll listen as long as you'd like me to."

Jack didn't open his eyes, but he smiled at this. "Alright then, I'll hold you to that. There isn't much more to tell anyway.

"I told you how the twins were living with the Bennetts and I was living with the Overlands. Well, I still got to see the twins from time to time. The Overlands would take me to visit every weekend, but it wasn't a good thing. The first time we went, a part of me thought that it would be like nothing had changed. Pippa would be demanding I play dress up with her and Jamie would be begging me to tell him a story. It wasn't. The twins started crying as soon as they saw me.

"Week after week I visited and week after week they'd sit there and cry. I soon realized that if I really wanted my siblings to be happy, I'd have to make their fear come true. I'd have to disappear from their lives. So I did.

"I gave up visiting Jamie and Pippa and they forgot they had a big brother." Glistening tears had started to escape from Jack's closed eyes, but he still smiled, "The only problem is, I can't forget that I am one."

Silence fell once more as Aster tried to figure out what to say, but Jack was the one to speak first.

"Aster?"

"Yeah?" The response was shaky and laden with emotion.

"Thanks for listening."

"Jack, I…"

"You don't need to do anything, Aster." Jack was looking at him now, smiling and totally calm despite the salty liquid escaping his eyes. "You listened and that's all I could ever ask."

Aster gave Jack a small smile. "Thanks for trusting me enough to share."

Jack heaved a huge sighed and started to chuckle. The chuckles quickly turned to full-on laughter. He was so glad to finally have the burden of his past out in the open. The laughter was strangely infectious and soon Aster was shaking with mirth as well.

When Aster finally drove Jack the remaining feet to his house both teens were smiling and talking about the Christmas fair, the depressing emotions of their talk driven away by laughter.


	14. Appendix I: Time Line for chap 1-13

The following is a timeline of the story's events, mostly so that people have a reference if they're having trouble with dates/timing of things. This is for the first 13 chapters and I will post another one once the story is done.

* * *

Time line

2005

October 21st – Frost's Die, Children in hospital

October 23th – Social Services places Jamie and Pippa

October 24th – Jack goes to Overlands

November 6th – Jack starts "living" again

November 14th – Jack Starts School again

2006

January 15th – Jack gives up twins

January 16th – Jack tell Pitch everything

2012

September 3rd – classes start

September 4th – Mr. Moon tells gang they need to invite Jack to join

September 5th – Jack joins

September 7th – Jack meets the minis

September 8th – trip to Burgess

September 15th – cleaning out the closet

September 22nd – Jamie's Game, Big reveal, Tree Picking, Pitch makes his move

September 24th – Jack gets a phone

September 27th – Jack sits with the gang at lunch

September 28th – Work begins on making booths

October 1st – Halloween discussion, Aster begins to paint booths

October 17th – Pitch remembers

October 21st – Death Anniversary, Pitch Strikes, Jack Found

October 22nd – Pitch found

October 25th – Jack awakens

October 26th – Pitch tells his story

October 29th – Jack and Pitch released, Jack talks to parents

October 30th – Jack Returns to School

October 31st – Halloween

November 1st – Pitch Returns to School


	15. Welcome Pitch?

"Morning, Pitch." Mr. Overland's welcome was warm, but his grip on the steering wheel had tightened the moment Pitch had stepped out of the house. He wasn't very happy that the ebony-haired youth was back in his foster son's life, but after what had happened to the two teens he couldn't bring himself to try and keep the kid away from Jack.

"Good morning, Mr. Overland, and thank you for the ride." Pitch answered politely, inclining his head slightly as he got into the car. The crutches and cast made it a little difficult, but Jack helped him and he was soon seated and buckled in.

Mr. Overland pulled out of the driveway and started towards the school. "So, Pitch, any luck finding your bike?"

"No, nothing. It's alright, though, my dad's going to get me a new car to replace it." Pitch had wanted another motorcycle, but even his overly-indulgent father had been unwilling to grant him another vehicle that was "so easy to attack him on."

Pitch had wanted to shout into the phone, "I wasn't attacked, you idiot," but he'd restrained himself and meekly accepted the gift. Ever since Mr. Black had left his wife fifteen years ago he'd spoiled his son rotten. Pitch rarely ever saw the man, not that he cared to, but was constantly showered with expensive toys and gadgets. He knew that, if he so chose, he could go and live with Mr. Black and leave his mother alone. The judge had said it was his choice when he reached the age of twelve.

He liked living with his mother, though. The woman was an insipid twit, believing everything he said and desperate to keep him happy so that he didn't leave her, too. It was a good life.

"A new car, huh?" The disbelief in Mr. Overland's voice was hard to miss, but Jack didn't even seem fazed at the news. He was used to Pitch getting fancy stuff all the time.

"Yeah, probably some brand of Jaguar. It'll be here in a week or so and I won't know what kind it is until then." But it had better be black and _fast_.

Mr. Overland nodded mutely, still coming to terms with the ridiculous opulence of it all, and finished the rest of the drive in silence. When he pulled into the school parking lot, Jack helped Pitch exit the vehicle, and gave his foster father a merry, "Thank you." Mr. Overland smiled at his foster son and waved goodbye as the two teens started across the parking lot.

The gang was waiting in the sleigh, as always, but they weren't really sure what to do as Jack and Pitch walked across the blacktop. Aster and Ana weren't surprised to see the troublemaker arrive with Jack, but Nick and Sandy hadn't yet heard about this latest development. Seeing their friends' clear confusion, the two explained about the previous night's events and how Jack had offered Pitch a ride to school. Aster let Ana do most of the explaining. He hadn't told the group about Jack's confession last night, and he wasn't planning to, but keeping the secret from his friends made him feel a little weird.

When Ana had finished explaining, Nick spoke. "Well, I guess we only have one choice."

Without further ado, he threw open the door and called out to the pair, "Hey, are you two going to join us in the warmth or not?"

Aster, Ana, and Sandy stared at Nick in shock. What was Nick thinking? Pitch was their _enemy_. After last Christmas they'd assumed Nick would be the least likely to want the arsonist around.

Pitch looked pleasantly surprised at the invite, but inside he was giddy with joy. It was working! He was so excited he almost missed Jack saying, "What do you say, want to hang out with them?"

Pitch nodded, making sure he looked shy and nervous as they neared the cherry-red jeep. Sandy gave Ana a helpless shrug and opened his door, climbing out and helping Pitch into the car. Ana took the teen's crutches from him and put them into the storage area in the back before squeezing into the crowded back seat.

It was incredibly awkward. No one seemed to know what to say, and only Jack looked comfortable.

"So, how was your hospital event?"

Relieved to have a topic of conversation, Nick began to tell them all about the hospital gift-giving, with Sandy nodding and stopping him when he forgot something. Pitch didn't say a word, content just to be inside of the Jeep for now.

When it came time for the group to go to classes, he graciously thanked Nick for letting him join them. Though the massive teen seemed a bit uncomfortable, he accepted the thanks and told Pitch he was welcome to join them any time he liked.

Pitch was elated. Step one, completed.

* * *

"Nick, what are you thinking?" Aster and Nick were walking to their second-period class, and Aster was more than a little annoyed over that morning's Pitch incident. "Giving him a lift home from the hospital was just being nice, but you're making him a part of the group!"

"I don't know. What was I supposed to do? Invite Jack in and leave Pitch to go into the building on his own? I couldn't make Jack choose between us and Pitch."

"Yeah, you could have!"

Nick stopped and grabbed Aster's shoulder, making him turn so that they were facing each other. "Do you really think Jack is going to choose us over Pitch?"

"Well, yeah! Don't you have any faith in him?"

"I have faith that Jack is an incredibly kind soul and wouldn't abandon Pitch to solitude. I'm not saying that Jack would pick Pitch over us for friends, but I can't see him leaving Pitch alone to come and hang out with us."

And suddenly Aster got it. "You did it for Jack?"

"Of course I did it for Jack!"

Aster ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "Sorry, mate, I didn't realize."

Nick winked and started off down the hallway towards their class once more. Aster followed behind him, thinking about the Pitch issue. He didn't like the guy, but he'd seen how Jack affected him. Pitch really cared about Jack. Would it really be _that_ terrible to give the guy a chance for Jack's sake? After all, he hadn't wanted to give Jack a chance, and now the snowy-haired albino was probably his best friend.

* * *

The next morning Pitch once again came to school with Jack, and he once again sat with the gang. This time he shyly joined in the conversation, even making Aster laugh with a joke. The gang had no clue every word the boy uttered had been practiced ad infinitum the night before. Pitch was exactly where he'd been hoping to be, but he had to play the situation very carefully.

When they parted ways to go to class, he thanked Nick once again for letting him join the Jeep crew and headed to class. So far, so good.

* * *

Sandy was sitting in study hall, working on the slides for a group presentation he and Ana had to give in their history class next week, while Ana ignored the task at hand and ranted about that morning. "…a no good jerk! I mean, he almost ruined the play last year!"

Sandy raised his eyebrows and looked calmly at Ana.

"Yeah, I know Jack was part of that, but he…" She searched for the right words. It was true: Jack had helped steal and try to burn the props. Even if Pitch had been the ringleader, there wasn't really much she could say to defend those actions. "…we know him now!"

Sandy nodded, smiled, and waited for her to continue.

"I mean, we may not know Pitch very well either, but, but… He's Pitch!"

Sandy was trying very hard not to laugh now as Ana realized just how silly she sounded.

"Okay, okay, okay, I get it. We gave Jack a chance; why not Pitch?"

Sandy bobbed his head and went back to working on the presentation while Ana sat there and brooded.

"That doesn't mean I have to _like_ giving him a chance!"

* * *

"Pitch can join the group."

Jack started and looked up from his book. The rest of the gang was standing on the other side of the table, arms crossed, looking like they'd just made a huge decision. "Huh?"

"Pitch can join the group," Nick reiterated.

"But I didn't even ask you guys about that yet."

Aster rolled his eyes and sat down by Jack, "Yeah, but you were going to, right?"

"Probably, but not for a while."

The others sat down around Jack, and Ana spoke now. "Jack, we're not big Pitch fans. You know that, but you're our friend and he's yours."

Aster threw an arm around Jack's shoulder and smirked, "So we'll give him a shot for your sake."

Jack smiled, "Thanks, guys."

A loud rumble came from Nick's stomach, "Alright, I need food."

The others laughed. They'd been so caught up with the Pitch issue that they'd forgotten to get food. They left Jack to his book and went back into the cafeteria. Before he could start reading again, though, Pitch made his way through the doors that led to the classrooms. He looked exhausted.

Jack jumped up and went over to help his friend to the table. Once Pitch was seated and had caught his breath he gave Jack an annoyed smirk."I really should have thought a bit more before I went and broke my leg."

Jack laughed. "Yeah, because you had a choice in the matter."

Pitch laughed, too. "Fair enough. Where's the rest of 'Team Helpful'?"

"Getting lunch. What do you think of them?"

"Well, as much as I still think they're a bunch of try-hards, I have to admit, they're nice try-hards."

"Hey! Didn't you promise me that you'd try hard yourself?"

Pitch had to think about it for a moment. "I guess I did, but I'm not exactly welcome to the group. One powwow in a Jeep doesn't a friend make, Jack."

"Maybe not, but it does make an impression."

Pitch was curious now. Was Jack really about to ask him what he thought he was?

"And you made a good one." Jack had an elbow rested against the cover of his book, his head perched against his hand, and he was giving Pitch a knowing grin. "The gang said they'd give you a chance if you'd like."

"Really?" The shock was genuine. It was that easy?

"Yeah! I think the whole almost-dying thing made them a bit more willing to consider you."

Pitch was thrilled. Oh, this was going better than he'd dared to dream! "I'd love to join the group. After last year I know I've got a lot to make up for, though."

The gang emerged from the cafeteria, lunch trays in hands, and joined Pitch and Jack. Pitch smiled softly at them, the picture of an excited and hopeful teen. "Jack told me you guys were willing to let me help you."

Aster nodded and took his seat, still not 100% sure this was a good idea. Sandy smiled at Pitch and sat down beside the newest member of the gang. Nick slapped Pitch on the back and sat down by Aster, "An extra pair of hands is always welcome!"

Ana sat by Nick and looked to the crutches now propped against the table, "I'm not sure how much help you'll be able to give with those, though."

"It's true that can't do anything for a while, but they'll be gone by the time the fair comes! I only have to wear the cast for six weeks and it's already been almost two. I get the cast off the first week of December."

"Just in time for the fair!" Jack exclaimed, beaming.

Pitch nodded, "Exactly."

"Well then, welcome to the team."

And that was it. He was in.

The rest of lunch was uneventful, mostly consisting of the gang telling Pitch all about the fair and what they'd done so far. The dark-haired teen listed for the most part, occasionally asking questions and offering suggestions. Once it was time to go to their next classes, the gang found they were actually glad they'd made the offer. Pitch had a lot of good ideas. If only they had known about the ideas he _wasn't_ sharing.


	16. Back to Burgess

Once school had let out for the day, the gang bid goodbye to Pitch, who was being picked up by his mother, and piled into the sleigh.

"So, what's today's plan?" Jack asked as Nick pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards his house.

"Same old, same old," the driver replied. "Tomorrow, though, we've got a lot of work to do."

"What's going on tomorrow?"

"I'm borrowing my dad's truck and we're driving a bunch of the booths into Burgess for storage."

"Correction," Ana interrupted, "You, Aster, and possibly Jack are taking the booths into Burgess. Sandy and I have a history project to finish."

Aster scoffed, "Not like you're much help at lifting heavy things anyway."

Sandy shrugged as Ana stuck her tongue out at Aster. It was true, after all.

Aster smirked at Ana, refusing to resort to childish retorts, while she crossed her arms and gave him a mocking glare.

Jack leaned his head against the car window, watching silently as the gang jokingly bickered. "It's the little things that make you appreciate being alive," Jack thought to himself.

* * *

"It's so wonderful to see you hanging out with those nice kids instead of just Jack, sweetheart."

Pitch smiled sweetly, "Yes, mother. They're awfully nice."

His mother beamed and continued to babble on about how wonderful it was that he was hanging out with the try-hards as Pitch let his thoughts drown her out. He was in now, but that was just step two in this plan and it had only happened because of Jack. He had to get the gang to really trust him if he wanted this to work out. When he got home he'd have to give his dad a call about donating some funds to a certain children's fair.

* * *

Aster snuggled up under the covers, enjoying their warmth, and willed himself to go back to sleep. His body needed to stop getting up this early on days when he didn't have school. The sound of a doorbell ringing echoed through the house, but he just groaned and threw a pillow over his head to drown out the noise.

Downstairs, Mrs. Bunnymund rushed to answer the doorbell with Sophie at her heels. When they opened the door Sophie was delighted to find her new friend Jack waiting there. The albino was dressed in blue jeans and a thick, navy-blue winter jacket. His normally pale cheeks were tinted a warm pink from the cold.

"Good morning, ma'am," he said politely. Then his frosty eyes caught sight of the little girl clinging to her mother's leg. "Morning, Soph!"

She let go of her mother and rushed into the chilly air to give Jack a hug. The teen immediately picked her up and entered the house as Mrs. Bunnymund held the door open wide for his entry. "It is far too cold outside for little girls to be running around without shoes!"

The scolding was good-natured and made Sophie giggle. Jack set her down and took off his coat. Once he'd hung it up on the coat rack he addressed Aster's mother. "Is Aster awake yet?"

"No, I'm afraid he's still in bed, but you're welcome to wake him up."

Jack grinned mischievously and looked down at the toddler who was standing by his side. "So, Sophie, want to go and wake up that lazy brother of yours?"

She nodded eagerly and took Jack's offered hand, leading him through the house to Aster's room.

While this exchange was taking place Aster had happily drifted back into dreamland, letting the pillow fall off of his head. As he dreamed of sunny weather and spring, Jack and Sophie snuck into the room. The toddler was full of anticipation. She loved waking up Aster, but Jack was more wary. He took in the scene before him, deciding the attack plan, but stopped when his eyes found Aster's sleeping form. He'd never seen Aster look so peaceful. The caramel-haired boy was wrapped tightly in spring-green sheets, a happy smile on his face, his body totally relaxed. It seemed a shame to wake him up, but they had things to do today.

Sophie tugged at Jack's leg, breaking his out of his contemplations. She was looking up at him, eager for her instructions. Jack glanced from her to Aster and quickly decided upon an attack plan. Smirking, he leaned down and whispered into her ear, telling her what to do. She giggled quietly and waited until Jack finished speaking, then moved into position.

"ATTACK!"

Aster's eyes shot open at the loud noise while his world began to wobble around like a ship at sea. The source of the vibrations was quickly found, though. Jack and Sophie were jumping on his bed. Great.

"Get off!" He shouted. Jack grinned and complied, but Sophie continued to jump. Her tiny body didn't do much, but it was enough to guarantee that Aster wasn't going to be comfortable staying in his current spot.

He moaned and threw off the covers. Sophie jumped off the bed, barely missing getting hit by the flying sheets, and ran to her cranky brother's side.

Aster, who had been about to launch into a tirade at the grinning Jack, bit his tongue and picked up the young child. He wasn't going to yell with her there. Jack had been very wise to bring Sophie along to wake him up. Instead, he opted to treat Jack to a menacing glare.

Jack laughed. "Morning, sunshine!"

Then he walked over to his scowling friend and wrapped an arm around Aster's bare shoulder. The Australian teen always slept shirtless, but his lower half was covered in thick, camo pajama pants. "Now, how about I take that little angel off of your hands and you get some clothing on? We've got a lot of work to do today!"

Aster growled deep in his throat, sounding almost feral, but gave Sophie to Jack. As she was being passed off, Sophie leaned over and kissed her brother's cheek. As annoyed as Aster was, the action made him smile. When the toddler removed her lips from his tanned skin, she leaned against Jack's chest and waggled a finger at Aster, her face suddenly very serious. "No mad! Aster smile!"

He laughed and ran his fingers through sleep tasseled hair, "Okay, Soph. I'll be nice."

She nodded, approving of Aster's promise, and allowed Jack to take her into the hallway. Once the door had closed Aster let out a tired yawn and opened up his closet. What to wear?

* * *

After Aster had finally decided on baggy grey cargo pants and a blue t-shirt, he exited the room to find Jack and Sophie. The two were in the family's TV room, and Sophie was showing Jack her doll house. The boy was happily playing the part of the plastic family's father while Sophie played everyone else.

Aster leaned in the doorway, watching as his best friend and little sister played. Jack was constantly making Sophie giggle and laugh with the silly voices he'd give to the plastic man, and Sophie's childish grasp of words made for interesting dialog from her characters. It was an adorable sight.

Sophie noticed Aster first and set down her dolls to greet him. Jack smiled as the other teen bent down and gave the child a gentle hug. "Nice to see you didn't fall back asleep on us."

Aster gave him a mock glare over Sophie's shoulder before winking and smiling back at Jack. "Ready to get going?"

"Yep!"

The boys bid goodbye to Sophie and went to find Mr. Bunnymund, their ride out to Nick's. He was in the kitchen, finishing up his breakfast. After exchanging pleasantries the three of them piled into Mr. Bunnymund's car and began their trip.

* * *

"Bye, dad!"

"Thanks again, Mr. Bunnymund!"

The pair waved as their ride turned around in the North's driveway and began to head back to town. When the car vanished from their sight, they turned around and headed straight to the workshop in the back. Jack had begun to avoid entering Nick's house whenever possible, and Aster couldn't blame him. Mrs. North was determined to make Jack eat his weight every time she saw him.

In the workshop they found Nick working on another booth. They'd already finished ten of them, but they needed at least fifteen for all the different activities. The draft of cold air the boys brought with them caught Nick's attention. He looked up, saw his friends, and turned off the saw. "Morning! Ready to head out?"

"Yep!" the two chorused, staying in the doorway. Nick grabbed his coat from the back of a nearby chair and joined them.

"My dad's truck is in the garage. Come on."

He led them around the house to a side door, which he opened with an old-fashioned key. Inside was a messy garage lined with tool boxes, hunting gear, skis, ice skates, snowshoes, shoves, and other winter gear. In the center of the clutter was an emerald green truck with a Christmas wreath attached to the front grill.

"Your family really lives for Christmas, huh?" Jack asked, bemused at the truck's ornament.

Nick shrugged and opened the garage door, "It's my folks' favorite holiday, so I've just grown up loving it, too. Now, do you want to get in the truck or just wait for me to pull it around?"

"We might as well just wait." Aster said, warily eyeing the vehicle. "We're just going to get right out to load it."

"Suit yourselves!" Nick replied, jumping into the truck and firing the ignition. He pulled the truck out of the garage and through the yard to stand by the workshop. Once he'd turned off the engine, Jack and Aster joined him. Together they loaded the finished booths into the truck bed, carefully placing a layer of old cloths between and around each one to ensure they survived the trip. Once the truck had been packed, Nick secured the load with several bungee cords and ran inside to let his parents know they were heading off while Aster and Jack got into the truck's cab.

"You gonna be okay going into Burgess?" Aster asked.

"I've done it a thousand times before. Why would this time be any different?"

"Well, you know, after what happened with you and Pitch…"

Jack was quiet for a bit before replying. "That didn't even happen in Burgess."

The statement seemed more of a question, as if Jack wasn't sure if that was true. For some reason a memory of his parents' grave still stuck with him from that day, but that was impossible. He never went into Burgess on the 21st. Pitch had said that he took Jack for a ride from Narvon into the woods because he'd seemed really down. The memory of the tombstone must have been because he was thinking about his parents' death. He could feel a headache starting to build as he thought about that day, so he shook his head, knocking the memories from his thoughts, and grinned at the worried Aster. He was going to say something to reassure his friend, but then Nick exited the house and joined them in the car. The time to talk about serious things was past.

Nick backed through the snow-covered lawn and onto the road while asking the gang if they'd like to listen to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra or his father's Christmas mix.

* * *

The car ride passed quickly and soon the boys were pulling into the rec center. Nick and Jack stayed inside the truck while Aster ran inside to get Mr. Kaufman, who had promised to be there to meet them.

Jack leaned forward from his seat in the back. "Shouldn't we start to get to booths off of the truck?"

"Nah," Nick answered. "We're going to be putting them into the shed when they get back and we'll just drive the truck there."

"The shed?"

Nick pointed through the window, across the rec center's soccer field, to a stone hut on the other side. "Aster uses it to store his Easter baskets and stuff during the year, but there's a lot of empty space."

Aster exited the building and rejoined them in the truck. "He gave me the keys and told me to just bring them back to him when we're done."

"Fair enough," Nick replied, and pulled onto the field. He drove along the edge, but the snow provided a good blanket to keep them from tearing up the ground.

As they got closer, Jack realized that the shed was a surprisingly large, two-story structure, about the size of a small garage. It even had a chimney!

"What is this thing?" he asked, clearly puzzled by the odd building. He vaguely remembered his parents using it for some form of storage years ago when they'd thrown children's events of their own, but he didn't remember much about it.

"Well, it used to be some form of caretaker's hut back when there was an inn here, but the inn burned down years ago and it was left to rot. It was restored when they built the rec center, and now it's just a storage shed. It's still got the old fire place, though," Aster explained as he jumped out of the car and unlocked the building. The inside was lined with shelves of wicker baskets and a couple of bins filled with croquet sets as well as other summer sports equipment. Jack could see an old fireplace behind one of the shelves, but it clearly hadn't been used in a long time.

The boys unloaded the booths into the shed, leaning them against the shelves. It was hard work and took them a good hour to unload them and make sure they were well-secured.

Once they'd finished, they drove back to the rec center and went inside to give back the key and thank Mr. Kaufman for letting them store the booths. When they got to his office, though, they couldn't seem to open the door.

Nick tried to turn the brass knob again, but the office was clearly locked. "I guess he's somewhere else."

Aster started off down the hallway, motioning for the others to follow. "Come on, I've got a hunch where we'll find him."

The trio moved out of the offices into the main portion of the building. They passed through a basketball court with rock-climbing walls along its edges, by a racquetball court, a wrestling room, and some locker rooms, until they arrived in a large, chilly room. Metal bleachers lined the edges of an elliptical wall of transparent plastic. Inside the plastic was an ice rink, on which Mr. Kaufman was happily skating in a simple circle. He noticed the boys almost immediately and skated to a door in the plastic, which he then pushed open. He exited the rink, the skates blades sinking into the special flooring of the rink. "Hello there, boys. I'm just testing out the ice before we open for the day. Care to join me?"

"We don't exactly have skates." Aster started to say, ready to refuse the offer, but Nick had other plans.

"We'd love to! Would you mind lending us some from the shop?"

Mr. Kaufman beamed and made his way over to a door in the room's wall. He passed through and disappeared from their sight for a moment before another portion of the wall slid open, revealing rows of skates behind a counter. "Now, what sizes are you three?"

Nick gleefully got a set of size sixteen skates while Aster reluctantly accepted a pair of size twelves. Jack, however, hadn't moved from the entryway. He was too busy staring at the rink.

"Jack, are you going to join us, or what?" Nick asked as he finished lacing his skates.

Jack took a deep breath and walked over to the window where Mr. Kaufman was waiting. "I'm a size nine."

The man smiled and retrieved a pair of snow white skates for the teen. "Here you go, Jack."

Jack nodded, hands trembling lightly, and took the skates. While Nick forced Aster onto the ice, Jack carefully removed his shoes and put on the skates. It felt strange to have them on once again.

He stood up, watching as Aster shakily moved along the ice, a chuckling Nick gliding by his side. "Don't worry, Aster, I'll catch you if you fall."

The Australian gave his friend a peeved glare and picked up his speed a bit. "I am perfectly fine, thank you. I don't need to be caught."

Just then his balance failed him, and Aster fell back onto the ice, much to Nick's amusement. "_Sure_ you don't."

Scowling, Aster allowed Nick to help him to his feet and steady him.

While this exchange had been taking place, Jack had moved to the edge of the rink, staring at the ice before him. Mr. Kaufman had removed his own skates and come to stand by Jack. "Are you alright, son?"

Jack took a shaky breath and nodded. "Yeah, just taking it slowly."

Mr. Kaufman placed an arm around Jack's shoulders. The man was a little taller than Jack, but the skates made them of an equal height. "If you've retained even a fraction of your previous skills, Jack, you're going to have no trouble."

He winked at the teen and Jack bobbed his head, stepping onto the ice. Aster and Nick had stopped skating to watch Jack and make sure he was okay. They hadn't heard the quiet conversation between the man and their friend, though.

His first move was a wobbly one, almost toppling him, but Jack didn't fall. He cautiously pushed out with his left foot, grinding it against the ice, giving himself a small burst of speed. He mirrored the motion with his right foot, moving slightly faster. Back and forth, back and forth he pushed against the ice, flying by the watching Nick and Aster, until he was a blur of blue.

Jack was laughing now, feeling a little daring, and he made a tiny jump. It was only a few inches into the air, but the landing was perfect. He picked up a bit more speed and tried again, this time jumping half a foot into the air. It was like riding a bicycle. Skill gained from years spent skating was rushing back now, and he threw caution to the wind.

Jack sped up as fast as he could go and leapt into the air, pulling his arms into an x shape across his chest and pulling his feet close together. He spun twice before opening his legs again and uncrossing his arms, allowing him to use them as a balance when his skates reconnected with the ice.

It was a simple rotation, the first jump he'd ever learned, but it felt exhilarating to do it again.


	17. Iced Memories

When Jack first took to the ice his friends had watched, making sure he wasn't going to fall. As the first wobbly step transformed into a smooth glide and he quickly picked up speed, the worry was replaced with admiration. Then he'd done the first little jump and Nick begun to worry once more. He'd been skating for a long time and still had trouble landing little jumps. He turnefd to Aster, to tell his friend he was going to go and stop Jack before he hurt himself, only to see the Australian's green eyes widen with shock. Nick turned back around and stared as Jack pulled off an incredibly skilled rotation.

The two watched in shocked silence as Jack did another jump, this time landing so that he was skating backwards. The only sound in the room was his laughter as he gracefully skated around the rink, finally coming to a halt in front of the shocked duo. His laughter only grew stronger at the looks on their faces. He pushed against the ice lightly and jumped into the air, landing facing the other way and skated away, still laughing. The sound of clapping suddenly filled the rink and the three boys looked to see Mr. Kaufman sitting on the bleachers, fiercely applauding.

"Jack, that was lovely," he called.

Jack skated to a stop and gave his audience a low bow. When he brought his head back up, his frosty eyes were shinning with excitement. "Wanna see me try something really complex?"

Mr. Kaufman shook his head, "No, Jack, I want you to come here."

Curious, he skated to the rink's exit and walked across the floor to where the older man was waiting. Mr. Kaufman motioned for Jack so sit down beside him, which he did. Aster, with Nick's help, skated to the rink's edge as well, intent on joining them. Seeing the other teens coming, Mr. Kaufman whispered to Jack, "What I'm going to say to you has to do with your past. Would you like me to ask the others to leave?"

Jack shook his head. Aster already knew and it was about time Nick was told. "No, I think I'd like them to hear as well."

Mr. Kaufman smile fondly at Jack, glad to see the boy was letting the others in, and nodded.

The duo reached the bleachers and Aster plopped down by Jack's side, immediately beginning to unlace his skates. "Humans were not meant to play on ice."

Jack grinned and nudged his friend's side. "I seem to be able to pull it off."

Aster pursed his lips as he worked at the well-done knot of his left skate, "That's because you're a ruddy showoff whose goal in life is to break rules."

Jack laughed and Nick took a seat on Aster's other side, turning his head to look at Mr. Kaufman. "What did you want to talk about, sir?"

"Well, it's more of what I'd like to show you. Why don't you boys follow Aster's lead and take off those skates? They're hard to walk in outside of the rink."

The boys followed the suggestion and, once the skates were gone, Mr. Kaufman led them along the edges of the rink to a small glass trophy case against the far wall. Inside the case was a wooden carving of a pair of ice skates surrounded by a series of framed pictures. Each picture was an image of Jack's family. Along the bottom of the case, the words "Gone but not forgotten" were carved in an elegant, cursive script. Mr. Kaufman motioned to the case, smiling at the surprise on Jack's face. "I wanted to show you this. A few of your parents' old friends paid for it, and I was more than happy to allow them to place it here."

Jack gazed at the images. The first one was an image of the whole family, the same one he had on his night stand. The second one showed his mother and father painting some sort of structure. Despite the fact that they were clearly hard at work, both of them were smiling and laughing. The third image showed Emma, Jack's mother, standing on a stage with a microphone in her hand. Though you couldn't tell by just looking at the image, Jack knew she was singing when it had been taken. The final image showed Jack's father, spinning through the air on ice skates, far above a ring of ice.

A few weeks ago Jack would have taken one look at these images and ran away. Now, though, he smiled and turned his gaze to Mr. Kaufman, bowing his head lightly. "Thank you."

Nick and Aster watched this interaction take place, unsure what they were supposed to do, but Jack soon answered that question. With a grand gesture he waved to the case and said, "Gentlemen, my parents."

They moved forward to get a better look into the case, and Nick pointed at the figure skates. "So, your dad was a figure skater?"

Jack looked lovingly at the wooden carving and nodded. "Yeah, he taught me everything I know. Before I was born he used to compete, but by the time I came around, he was happy just to teach me."

He pointed to the image of his mother, "And my mom was an incredible singer! She was always singing…"

His voice trailed off as he looked at the four images. Then he sighed and said, "I'd better start at the beginning, huh?"

Nick, Aster, and Mr. Kaufman stood, listening in silence, as Jack told them about his family. He began with losing them, glossing over the fire and what happened to the twins, and then he moved backwards in time to before they died.

"I can still remember the first time my dad took me skating. It's probably my first memory," Jack explained. "It was at this very rink. He'd bought me a pair of skates for my third birthday and we came here to try them out. He laced them onto my little feet and guided me out onto the ice. There must have been a bunch of other skaters here, but to me, it seemed like just my dad and I were there.

"I was so scared of falling, but dad held onto my arms and kept me upright. His steady voice told me just what to do. I remember when he let go of me for the first time. I begged him not to, but he told me I had to at least try to do it on my own and promised he wouldn't let me fall. He kept that promise, too and soon I was flying across that ice with him by my side."

Jack chuckled, his eyes closed as he lost himself in the memory, "We came almost every day after that. We'd always come as early as possible so we could get onto the ice first, be the first to mar that untouched, white glass. It was that time alone when my dad taught me how to jump and land. The only time I ever fell on the ice was when I was learning a new trick, but it was always worth it. The way my dad's eyes shone when I landed a move, the pride in his eyes, it was the _best_ thing in the world."

Jack slowly opened his eyes, returning to the presence, and grinned at his audience. "And now I'm rambling."

"Mr. Kaufman, are you in here?" A shout echoed through the room and Jack grabbed his hood, pulling it back over his hair.

Mr. Kaufman glanced at his watch and gave the boys a sheepish grin, "I believe our little chat took longer than I'd thought. The rink will be opening in a little under an hour now, and today's crew seems to have arrived. Excuse me."

He hurried around the rink, calling out, "I'm over here, Mark!" and the boys exchanged glances.

"We should probably head out," Nick suggested.

The others agreed and they slipped back around the rink, grabbed their shoes, and left. They'd forgotten about returning the shed key, which was still tucked in Aster's pocket.

* * *

The boys turned out of town and onto the highway, headed back to Narvon, when the car exploded with noise. "_Aye carumba, baby yeah. Aye carumba, baby…_"

Aster hurriedly grabbed his phone and opened it, his face a dark crimson, as the others broke into fits of mirth at Aster's strange ringtone.

"What is it, Ana?" The blush faded as Aster listened to the excited babbling on the other end of the line. "Ana, slow down, I can't follow you."

"Uh-huh."

"No way!"

"That's awesome!" Aster's face had filled with excitement as the conversation took place and the other two were waiting impatiently to hear the news. "Yeah, I'll tell them. We're on our way back from Burgess now."

"You too, see you Monday." With that he flipped the phone shut and launched into an excited explanation, "Ana just got a call from Mr. Moon – a new donor had just offered to give us an extra thousand dollars for the fair!"

The fair was an expensive undertaking, and the gang had already had to scrap some of their favorite ideas due to budget constraints. An extra bit of cash was a dream come true!

"That's awesome!" Nick exclaimed.

"I know, right?" Aster shoved his phone back into his pocket, only to find a strange metal object inside. He groaned, "Oh no, I forgot to give Mr. Kaufman back his key."

"Call him," Jack suggested as Nick offered to pull over and turn around.

Aster followed Jack's suggestion and called the man's cell phone. After hearing what had happened Mr. Kaufman told Aster, "Why don't you keep the key until this fair thing is over? I've got another copy in my office and I'm sure you kids are going to need to get into that shed some time when I'm not here."

"Thank you, sir!"

"Don't worry about it. It was lovely to see you kids. You should come back and skate again soon."

Aster winced slightly. His backside was still sore from his earlier fall, but thanked Mr. Kaufman for the offer anyway, and hung up the phone. "He said we can keep the key!"

"Everything's going right for us!" Jack declared, giving the others a huge thumbs up as they continued on their way back to Narvon.


	18. Pitchmobile Arives

Mr. Moon looked up from his desk, where he'd been busily working on grading his first class' essays, into the faces of Ana and Aster. "Ah, I'm glad you were able to come and see me so early. Where's the rest of the gang?"

Ana motioned in the general direction of the parking lot. "Still arriving, probably. I wanted to talk to you as soon as possible so we came directly here."

Behind her, Aster rolled his eyes and shrugged. He wasn't very happy with the fact that Ana had forced him to get up early so they could meet with Mr. Moon when they could have easily waited until lunch. He also wasn't thrilled that she'd decided not to tell the others about this meeting request and was now lying to their advisor. So, sir, why did you want to talk to us?"

Mr. Moon laid the paper he'd been reading on the desk, pushed his horn-rimmed spectacles to the bridge of his eyes, and rested his elbows against the table. Leaning his mouth against his clasped hands, he studied the two teens before him. "You two know I have to approve all donations you receive, correct?"

They nodded.

"Well, as I informed you on Saturday, Ana, you've had a donor offer quite a large sum of money to your fair."

More nods.

"I am inclined to refuse this donation."

Aster let his crossed arms fall to his side, trying to understand what was going on.

Ana was more vocal in her reaction, "WHAT? But, sir, we could use that money! I've already worked it into the budget and…."

"Ana, will you please let me finish explaining?"

She pursed her lips, but quieted.

"This money is being donated by a Mr. Black, Pitch's father. After last year's mishap, I wasn't sure you kids would be comfortable accepting such a donation."

They exchanged nervous glances at this. None of them had thought to inform Mr. Moon of the fact that Pitch had joined the gang. Well, no time like the present.

"Sir," Ana began, "Pitch has actually offered to help us with the fair this year."

Mr. Moon raised an eyebrow, but seemed otherwise unsurprised. "And I assume, since you're telling me this that you accepted?"

The teens nodded and he took a deep breath, "Are you sure about this?"

"Sir, you had Jack join us, and he was as involved in last year's incident as Pitch! Why not ask Pitch to join as well?"

Ana's explanation didn't seem to change Mr. Moon's trepidation, "Ms. Romoli, I chose Mr. Frost as an addition to your group for a very specific reason. I will not stop you from allowing Mr. Black to join the group, but I advise great caution with him. I'm assuming this means you're willing to accept the donation then?"

Ana nodded eagerly, but Aster remained quiet. Pitch still gave him a nasty feeling in the pit of his stomach, even if the guy was part of the team now. Accepting handouts from Pitch's father just didn't sit well with him, but they could do a lot of good with that money.

"Aster, are you willing to accept the donation?" Mr. Moon was looking at him curiously while Ana was giving him a glare that clearly said, "say yes, you idiot!" so he did.

* * *

"…and we're storing the booths in this cool old house thing. They called it a shed, but Aster said that it used to be a caretaker's hut that they turned into a shed. Mr. Kaufman, the rec center director, even let us keep the key for it. Well, more like we accidently took it and he said we didn't need to bring it back."

Pitch listened intently as Jack babbled on about the weekend's events. He needed to know everything he could about the fair and the rec center if he wanted to make a plan that would work. "Did you take another load over on Sunday, then?"

Jack shook his head, "Nah, the rec center is closed on Sundays. I mean, since we have the key, we could have, but we didn't. We didn't really have anything else to take over, anyway."

Pitch nodded, filing that information away as well and continued to bombard Jack with questions.

Jack was ecstatic that Pitch was taking a real interest in the fair and was more than happy to answer all of them as his foster father drove them to school. By the time they arrived Pitch knew the basic layout of the rec center and several other useful factoids.

When Mr. Overland stopped the car, Jack went to the back and grabbed Pitch's crutches, then helped his friend out of the car – a ritual they'd developed after Pitch had made a few subtle comments the previous week. He was very pleased to have Jack serving him again, as it should be.

"Thank you, Jack," Pitch said, and began to make his way to the familiar cherry-red Jeep.

Jack smiled and waved goodbye to his foster father before hurrying after Pitch to make sure he didn't fall on the slick pavement.

As they neared the jeep, one of the back doors opened. Ana came flying out and rushed towards them, causing the duo to stop their progress in confusion. She soon reached them and wrapped Pitch in a big hug, crying, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Pitch knew what was going on, but it still took a good deal of willpower to keep from screaming at her to let go of him. Instead, he channeled his rage into a blush that spread across his normally pale skin and adopted an embarrassed expression.

"What's going on?" asked Jack, clearly lost at the scene before him.

Much to Pitch's relief, Ana let go of him and turned to Jack. "That donation Aster told you about? Pitch's dad made it!"

She winked at Pitch and continued, "And I bet you had something to do with it!"

Pitch avoided her gaze and tried to deepen his blush. It apparently worked because Ana giggled and hugged him again. Seeing that Ana wasn't going to let Pitch move anytime soon, the rest of the gang exited the Jeep and joined them.

North wrapped Pitch in a powerful side hug, loudly proclaiming his thanks, and Sandy gave him a big thumbs up.

Aster, on the other hand, came to stand by Jack, wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulder and leaning against him. He was okay with Pitch being around, but he was _not_ hugging the guy.

"So, what exactly happened?" Jack whispered as the others continued to crowd Pitch.

"You heard Ana," Aster's voice was kept equally low.

"Yeah, I'm just not sure I believe her."

He gave Jack an incredulous look. "Okay, I'm supposed to be the one who doesn't trust Pitch all the way. He's _your_ friend, why wouldn't you believe it?"

Jack shrugged, jostling Aster lightly. "I've just never seen Pitch ask his dad to give money to anything but himself."

Then he grinned and turned to look at Aster, frosty-blue eyes meeting bright green. "I guess Pitch really is shaping up, huh?"

"Uh, yeah…" Aster looked away from Jack's gaze and back to the surrounded Pitch. "I guess he is."

* * *

That weekend Pitch went to Nick's for the first time. While Nick and Jack worked on the woodwork he and Aster did the paint job. Surprisingly, Aster was willing to let Pitch paint the letters on the booths, as long as Aster traced the outlines first. Though it was simply coloring between the lines, Pitch took the job very seriously.

While the rest of the gang worked on the booths, Ana and Sandy were busy going around to the local businesses that had agreed to donate food or were being paid to make food, making sure that the orders had been made correctly so that they would have one less thing to do during the crunch period.

It was a productive day for both teams and, when Nick drove the guys home, they found a brand-new car waiting in Pitch's driveway.

"Hey, Jack, this means I can drive you to school from now on!" Pitch was actually genuine in his excitement. His father's gift had finally arrived!

Jack gave Pitch a disbelieving look. "Pitch, your leg is still broken!"

"Yes, but it's my left leg, and the car has an automatic transmission. I can drive it perfectly fine."

Pitch was right. Starting that Monday, he drove Jack to school every day. Fifteen minutes of time alone every school day. No one notice that Jack always seemed a little sadder every time he exited the black car because, by the time they joined the gang, he was smiling again.

* * *

"Mom, I got the solo!" Pippa rushed out of the choir room to where her mother was waiting. Her chocolate eyes were shinning with excitement, and Mrs. Bennett scooped her up into a big hug.

"That's wonderful, dear!"

Jamie, who had been sitting by his mother, reading a book, looked up at his sister and smiled. "Like you ever doubted that you'd get it?"

Pippa giggled and winked at him. He winked back and returned to his book.

"Jamie, put away your book. It's time to go."

He obeyed his mother, closing the book and standing up to follow her. Then his eyes fell on a poster in the hallway. "Hey, Mom?"

Mrs. Bennett had already begun to walk toward the exit with Pippa, but she stopped and turned her head to face her son. "Yes, Jamie?"

He pointed to a sign hanging on the wall that he'd only just noticed. "We're going to that, right?"

Mrs. Bennett read the sign. Bright red letters read, "Come one, come all to the Christmas fair" followed by a date, time, and place in deep green. The twins had asked her about the fair a few weeks ago, but she'd forgotten all about it. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, checking where the date fell. Once she'd looked, she put the phone away and gave her son a nod of approval.

"Since it's on the 15th we can probably make it."

Jamie ginned in delight and raced to join his family, taking his mother's free hand in his. "Good thing it wasn't on the weekend before Christmas, huh Pip?"

His twin nodded, "Yeah, otherwise we would have been at Grandma's house and missed it!"

* * *

"Hey, the cast is gone!"

Pitch grinned back at Jack as the smaller teen got into the car. "Yep! I've still got to wear a brace for another week or so, though. The doctor said it's healing faster than they thought."

He pulled up the leg of his jeans to show Jack the leather contraption strapped against his leg.

Jack nodded and buckled his seatbelt as Pitch pulled out of the driveway and into the road. "How'd you do with the math homework?"

Jack made a disgusted face and slouched in his seat. "Can we talk about a more pleasant subject?"

Pitch laughed and pulled the car to a stop at a red light. This was the one part of his day that he always enjoyed, when he got time alone with Jack. He could almost forget his former friend's betrayal, but soon they'd be at school and he'd have to watch as Jack laughed and joked with those buffoons he'd decided to call his friends now. "Okay, what do you want to talk about?"

Jack thought for a minute before his eyes lit up, "Oh, I got a letter from the Bennetts! Pippa's got a concert coming up on the 9th of December for choir, and she scored the lead solo this year!"

"Really?" Pitch stored away that useful little piece of information. He tolerated Jack's devotion to his siblings simply because he knew Jack would never be able to actually let them into his life. They weren't a threat like the gang.

"Yep!" Jack was the picture of a proud older brother. Pitch found the image far too happy.

"Are you gonna buy her a rose or something?"

Jack's face fell, "You know I can't do that."

"Oh, come on! You could just send it from a mysterious admirer."

Jack shook his head, looking even sadder, "Nah. I don't want her trying to figure out who sent it, and it would be a little creepy if a random guy sent a rose to a ten-year-old who doesn't know who he is."

Pitch gave the morose teen a sad smile. "Sorry, Jack. I wasn't thinking."

Jack smiled back. "It's okay. You were just trying to be helpful."

He didn't speak for the rest of the ride, and Pitch spent the time drinking in the sight of the saddened Jack. He really had missed this.


	19. Pitch is why we can't have nice things

"That's the last of it!" Nick exclaimed as he and Aster plopped the final booth against the shed wall. A bright flash of light blinded them and Aster glared at a smirking Pitch, who just happened to be holding a camera in his hands.

"You know, mate, just because Ana asked you to take pictures of everything doesn't mean that you have to blind us every five seconds."

"Hey, it's the only job I've got. The brace may be off, but no lifting heavy weight on this leg until the doctor says so!"

Jack chuckled softly from where he stood, leaning against the shed's door, and then called in at his friends, "Come on guys! Stop bickering! Mr. Kaufman promised we could go ice skating if we finished before the rink opened!"

Aster and Pitch both winced at this. Neither boy was a fan of the winter sport.

Nick, however, was as eager as Jack. He wrapped a giant arm around both of the others and guided them out of the shed as Jack got into the truck, his booming voice excitedly talking about how much fun they were going to have. None of the others noticed when Pitch dropped his camera on the ground as they were leaving, or the glint in his eyes when it happened.

* * *

Mr. Kaufman was working in his office when they boys found him, but he quickly put aside his project and smiled up at them, giving the teens his full attention. "Hello boys. I'm guessing you four got the booths all squared away. Ready for next weekend?"

"Hopefully," Aster said tiredly. He'd been up late last night finishing the final booth. He'd even spent the night at Nick's house. "My main part's all done, at least."

Jack looked at Aster mischievously, "Oh, I don't know about that. I heard Ana saying something about decorating cookies?"

Aster closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his right hand, holding back a tired groan. "Just let me stay here in my happy fantasy world until we get back home, please?"

Jack laughed. "Okay! Now, if I remember correctly, we were offered a chance to skate?"

Mr. Kaufman nodded and got up from his desk. "Of course. How could I say no to letting Nathaniel Frost's son on my ice rink?"

Happily, Jack grabbed Aster's hand and followed after Mr. Kaufman.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Making sure you don't slink away while we skate," was the determined reply.

Muttering about annoying friends, Aster allowed himself to be dragged through the building while a bemused Nick and a livid Pitch followed. As much as Pitch would have disliked being dragged, the fact that Jack had grabbed Aster and not him filled him with rage.

Soon, the four boys were in skates and on the ice. Unlike Aster, Pitch was actually able to skate passably well on his own, meaning Jack was ignoring him and focusing on helping the Australian. He'd considered pretending he couldn't skate, but there was no way he was belittling himself like that for Jack's attention. Especially since Jack should have naturally ignored Aster in order to skate with him. Instead, he was stuck skating with _Nicholas North, _the king of Christmas, and listening in on Jack and Aster's conversation.

"It's easy! Just push with your leg a little bit. There, that's it!"

Aster forced a smile as Jack held his hands and guided his shaky form around the rink. "I'm sure Nick can help me, Jack. You can go show-pony around if you'd like."

Jack shook his head. "Nope! One, I'm not a showoff."

He ignored the look Aster gave him and continued on, "Two, you're my best friend and I'm going to make sure you love skating as much as I do."

When he heard this, Pitch had to take a calming breath to keep from knocking Aster to the ground and dashing his brains in with an ice skate.

"Pitch, you're pretty good at this! When did you learn how to skate?"

Nick almost received an ear shattering scream in response to this question, but Pitch managed to pull off a polite, "My father taught me one summer when I was visiting him."

"Ah, where does he live?" Nick continued to ask Pitch about his father. Pitch, in turn, did his best to avoid answering the more personal questions while remaining polite. To his annoyance, the big teen's loud bombardment of questions made it so that he couldn't listen to Jack and Aster's conversation anymore.

"You're doing great." Jack was grinning at Aster, who looked like he was going to be sick.

"Yeah, because you're holding me!"

"Well, let's see how you do on your own."

Aster shook his head fiercely, stumbling at bit as he did so, "Jack, don't you dare!"

"You have to at least try it! I promise, you're not going to fall." Jack didn't even realize he was echoing the words of his father, but Aster did. He looked over Jack's shoulder, to the corner of the room where the shrine sat silently, and sighed.

"Alright. I'll try."

Jack made sure Aster was steadied and slowly released him. When he saw his friend wasn't going to fall he said, "Okay, so far so good, now try to speed up a bit!"

Aster took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. He was gliding along alright, but he had yet to actually do anything with his body. He stared down at his feet and mirrored the motion Jack had forced him to try. Instead of falling, he was surprised to find himself moving along the ice without even shaking.

He looked up into the twinkling blue orbs that were Jack's eyes and grinned, "You know, you are a way better teacher than Nick."

Jack laughed, his whole body shaking with mirth, drawing the attention of the other two boys. Pitch clenched his fist at the sight, but kept a smile on his face.

"Alright, Jack, I can move on my own now. Let's see another trick."

"You just want an excuse to call me a showoff again."

"No, I'm serious. I actually want to see what you can do."

Nick was nodding in agreement, but Pitch just looked bewildered. He'd never seen Jack skate and Jack had never told him about his little talent. "Okay, I'll do something, but you guys have to get off the rink. I don't want to hit you."

Pitch and Nick skated to the exit and left the rink while Jack helped Aster off the ice. Mr. Kaufman, who'd been watching the boys skate, called out, "Jack, would you like some music?"

"Sure! Play whatever you'd like!"

Mr. Kaufman went into the skate shop and the enchanting chords of Lindsey Sterling's _Shadows_ began to blast across the room.

Jack gave a tiny bow to the onlookers and took off, gliding across the ice, pushing his skates in time to the music. As the music began to climb he took a deep breath and jumped into the air, bringing his arms to his chest, before spreading them back out as his skates touched the ice.

He landed on one leg and turned his body in a tight circle before taking off across the glass-like surface once more. As the music throbbed he twisted his body in tight circles as his legs performed a complicated series of cross backs, before launching into the air once more. He quickly landed, only to immediately jump right back into the air, an impressive double jump. His whole body was in tune with the sway of the music and the rhythm of the ice.

As the other teens stared in awe, Mr. Kaufman joined them by the rink's edge. "Good, isn't he?"

Silent nods were the only reply.

"I always tried to get Nathaniel to let him compete, but he wanted Jack to always look at skating as a way to be free, not another burden to worry about. I see now that he was right."

On the ice, Jack was raising his right leg out behind him and leaning sideways, bringing his body parallel to the ice and into a camel spin.

Pitch was in shock. How had he not known about this? The beauty of Jack's skating was lost on the demented teen. Instead, he was filled with a slowly building resentment. Jack was supposed to have told him _everything _about himself. Pitch had prided himself on knowing exactly what made Jack tick. Now, here he was, clearly the last one to know about this. This was not okay.

As the music faded and a laughing Jack joined them, Pitch forced a smile and joined the others in praising Jack, expecting to be the first one Jack spoke to. He wasn't. Aster was the one who Jack gave the first high five to, and the one who grinned the brightest while he congratulated Jack. This was beyond not okay. This was wrong. Completely and undeniably wrong. All worry Pitch had about his plan was blown away. It would work and Jack would never see Aster's stupid smile again.

Mr. Kaufman's watch gave a tiny beep, interrupting Pitch's silent plotting. "Oh, look at the time. You boys can keep skating if you'd like, but I need to finish some paperwork."

"As much as we'd love to, sir, I think we need to head home. I'm sure Ana's got a whole slew of tasks for us to do," Nick regretfully replied.

The other boys agreed and they all took off their skates, said thank you and goodbye to Mr. Kaufman, and headed back to Nick's waiting truck.

* * *

Nick was just pulling into Ana's driveway when Pitch let out a dismayed, "Oh no, my camera!"

"What happened to it?" Aster asked, glancing into the back seat. "I don't see it."

"That's just it! I must have left it in the shed!"

Aster raised an eyebrow, "How did you manage that one?"

The ebony-haired teen shrugged, still looking upset, "I don't know. I thought I put it in my pocket, but it must have fallen out. And I was supposed to be the photographer for the fair! Now I won't be able to empty the memory card or charge it before next weekend."

"Can't you just drive there sometime this week? Or maybe we can get it Friday when we take the Christmas trees to the shed?" asked Nick. He would have offered to go back earlier than that, but he was sure Ana had a thousand things for him to do.

"No! I mean, I doubt I'll have time this coming week."

"Hey, I could get it for you tomorrow," Jack suggested.

Nick and Aster seemed very confused by the offer, but Pitch was the picture of thankfulness. "That would be great! Do you think you'll have time?"

Before Jack could answer, Aster jumped into the conversation. "Jack, why are you going back to Burgess tomorrow?"

"Pippa has a concert tomorrow night that I'm going to. I thought I told you guys."

Aster gave him an annoyed look. "No, you didn't! Luckily I don't think we have much to do tomorrow. This coming week, though, yikes!"

Just thinking about all the tasks that had to wait for the last minute made the Australian feel tired.

"I know that! I'm sure I talked to Ana at least, and she said it was fine."

He remembered that conversation very well. It had been the day he'd told Ana about his family. Every time he told the story it got a little easier.

"Well, as long as she knows, then who are we to complain?" Aster said, opening the truck's door and stepping onto the driveway. Almost as an afterthought, he reached into his pocket and grabbed the old, iron key, giving it to Jack as the albino stepped from the vehicle. "Here you go, mate. You'll be needing the key."

Jack gave Aster a mocking salute, taking the key and placing it in his pocket as Nick and Pitch exited the car. "I will use it wisely, good sir."

"Are you four going to stand around talking or are you coming in here and helping? We've got to finish two hundred snow-globe-making kits by the end of the day if we want to stay on schedule!" Ana shouted at the boys from the doorway, crossly glaring at them. Behind her stood a terrified looking Sandy, his eyes pleading for rescue.

Jack looked at Aster helplessly and ran to the door calling, "We're coming to rescue you, fair maiden, fear not!"

As the others followed him they weren't entirely sure if the "fair maiden" was Ana or Sandy.

* * *

The sky was covered with clouds so that not even the moonlight could be seen as Pitch snuck out of his house and quietly got in his car. It was probably going to start snowing soon. His mother was watching a movie and believed him to be fast asleep, resting from a busy day's work, but she was very wrong.

He turned his keys in the ignition, silently praising himself for asking his father for a quiet car, and pulled into the street. He was wearing a dark hat and long, black coat, hoping to hide his features should anyone see him. In the passenger's seat sat a pitch black motorcycle helmet.

He took the back roads out of town and sped along the highway until he reached a familiar turnoff. He took the car deep into the woods, along an old dirt road, past a frozen pond, until he reached the spot where he'd hidden his motorcycle well over a month ago.

Luckily for him, the limited police department hadn't search far enough from the pond to find it, and he'd hidden it well enough that it didn't even look as if an animal had touched it. Grinning madly, Pitch guided the bike onto the path and pulled a gas can from the back of the car. He filled the motorcycle tank all the way, ensuring that he wouldn't have to worry about refueling on his little mission. Then he mounted the bike and sped off into the night, towards Burgess.

* * *

Pippa was wearing a white dress with golden trimming and standing center stage, singing at the top of her lungs. She looked like an angel. Jack loved watching and listening to her sing. The older she got, the more she sounded like his mother.

As the rest of the choir joined in, signaling the end of the solo, he looked at his program. The next song was the last one. When the song ended and the applause started, Jack got to his feet and snuck out the back of the room. He was so busy avoiding letting anyone get a good look at him that he didn't notice Mr. Kaufman watching him with sad eyes from a balcony seat. He knew who the boy in the hood was.

While Jack was walking to the rec center the concert ended, and the old man made sure to search out a certain Mrs. Bennett.

"Mr. Kaufman, how nice to see you," the woman said, smiling at the familiar face. Jamie was at her side, his nose firmly planted in a book while his mother talked. All his friends who were here were in the choir, so he was stuck standing around waiting for them and Pippa to come out of the changing rooms. At least he had _Mysterious Encounters_ to keep him entertained.

Mr. Kaufman gave a light bow. "Good evening, Madam and young sir."

Jamie looked up and gave the kind man a big grin that looked so much like Jack's it nearly broke Mr. Kaufman's heart, before returning to reading the book in his hands. Mr. Kaufman didn't allow himself to dwell on the similarities between the Frost children, instead continuing his address to the twins' adoptive mother.

"Pippa did a wonderful job tonight. She sings just like her mother." Mr. Kaufman gave Mrs. Bennett a pointed look as he said these words.

Her proud smile transformed into a forced one as she grabbed Jamie's hand, "Yes, she does, doesn't she? Come on, Jamie, let's go find your sister."

As she led him away the boy said, "Mom, Pippa doesn't sound a thing like you."

Her grip on his hand tightened and his mother let out a strange, forced laugh as her pace quickened, "Oh, I think Mr. Kaufman was just being nice. Besides, his hearing's starting to go."

"Slow down, Mom! What are we running from?"

"Nothing, dear," her voice was strained, "just help me find Pippa."

Jamie grew silent and allowed himself to be guided along as he glanced back at Mr. Kaufman. The old man was giving him such a sad look that the boy knew something had just happened. He just didn't know what.

* * *

With a quiet click, the shed door opened and Jack stepped inside. He placed the key back in his pocket and began to hunt for Pitch's camera. He should have brought a flashlight.

The growing sound of an approaching motor caught his attention and he turned around as a beam of light fell upon him from the shed's entrance. Pitch was in the doorway, sitting on top of a motorcycle, dressed in a long black coat, with a messenger bag hanging at his side. He stepped off of the bike, smiling darkly, and walked into the shed. With the light from the bike, Pitch's features were hard to make out. He looked more like a walking shadow than a man, "Jack! I'd hoped to find you in here!"

Jack took a step back, but Pitch grabbed him into an uncomfortably tight hug.

Jack pushed Pitch off him and stepped back again, "Pitch, what are you doing here?"

Then his eyes fell once more on the motorcycle. "And where did you get that bike? What's going on?"

Pitch laughed, a deep and terrifying sound, "Oh Jack, you really are a fool."

"Pitch, what is going on?" Jack was getting angry now, but he could feel fear starting to creep into the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong.

"Jack, I'm giving you a chance to make up for your mistake last year." Pitch explained, pulling a bottle with a rag stuffed into the top from his bag. Jack stared at it, uncomprehending.

Pitch then pulled another item from the bag, one Jack couldn't see. He rolled the item in his hand for a second before throwing it to Jack. Instinctively, Jack caught it. A lighter.

The knot of fear bloomed into full blown terror and the anger became rage. "Is this some sort of joke?"

"No," the words came out like a snarl, "I don't joke. That's your department, Jack. This is an offer."

He threw the bottle to Jack as well. It reeked of gasoline.

"I'm giving you a chance to make up for ruining my plan last year."

Jack looked from Pitch to the bottle to the booths lying against the wall, realization sinking in. "You want me to, to burn the booths?"

"Exactly! You really are quite clever."

Jack was trembling now – with rage or fear, he didn't know, "Are you insane? After what happened to us last year? Did the last few weeks mean nothing to you?"

"What, you think that changed anything? That I suddenly like those morons because we've been all chummy?" Pitch snarled, glaring at Jack. "Do you really think a few acts of kindness can make up for years of being beneath them?"

Jack glared back silently, clutching the dangerous items in his hands.

"You should know better than anyone how I feel! Do you really think this silly little fair is going to change a thing? You've poured hours into making it the talk of the town, but in the end, Jamie and Pippa still won't have a clue you exist. Do this, and everyone will know the name Jack Frost." Pitch let silence reign for a moment before continuing. "Of course, it's your choice, Jack. Give up on those idiots and join me, or pay the price."

Jack stared into Pitch's face defiantly. "Not gonna happen."

"And I had such high hopes for you." Pitch shook his head sadly, lunged forward, and pushed Jack to the ground. While the other teen was getting to his feet, he reached into his bag and grabbed another gasoline soaked bottle, which he quickly set alight and threw onto the ground by the booths. The bottle exploded on impact, splattering burning liquid against the wooden structures.

Jack stared in horror at the flames, giving Pitch time to grab his third and final bottle from the bag and repeat the motion. The second explosion returned Jack to reality, and he dropped the items in his hands and turned to rush at Pitch, only to find the other teen running out the shed door and closing it behind him. Jack ran after him and pushed on the door to open it, only to find that it was… locked. He reached into this pocket, but the key was gone. His phone was gone, too.

Panic was setting in now as Pitch laughed from outside. "What, you didn't think I'd let you keep the key, did you? You really ought to be more wary about who you hug, Jack."

"Pitch, let me out of here!" Jack banged against the door as the fire started to spread. Fire. He hated fire.

Pitch made a tutting sound, "Demanding now, aren't we? Don't worry, I won't let you die."

As he spoke, Pitch was carefully wrapping the key in a rag, which he then doused with a little bit of gasoline he had in a flask he took from his bag. "I'll give you back the key. I'll even leave your phone out here for you to call for help, but I have to make sure I'm long gone before that happens."

He threw Jack's phone to the ground, ignoring the other teen's desperate cries as he pounded on the locked door, and leaned down to the ground. Using his lighter he set the key's wrappings on fire and pushed it under the door, into the shed, and jumped onto his bike. Laughing with glee, he zoomed across the frozen ground of the field and sped into the night.

Inside the shed, Jack was already choking on smoke. He stamped on the key Pitch had slid under the door, but even after he'd managed to get that fire out, the metal was too hot to touch. He had to wait until it cooled.

He turned to face the burning booths and choked back a sob as he watched all of their hard work go up in flames. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and he swore he could hear Jamie and Pippa sobbing in terror once more as the oppressing heat brought tears to his eyes. Fire. It was always fire. Fire ruined everything.


	20. Hope lost

"_All I want for Christmas is yoooooooooou!_" Pippa sang the last few notes of the song merrily as the Bennetts pulled into their neighborhood. She'd been singing ever since they left the concert hall, and Jamie was doing his best to tune her out. As she started to hum the intro to frosty the snowman, though, he cracked.

"You just sang for a whole hour. How can you possibly want to sing more?"

"Because singing is fun!" She leaned over and rested her cheek against her twin's shoulder, "Come on, sing with me, Jamie!"

Jamie had a theory that sisters had a special power over their brothers that they could use to make them do whatever they wanted. Pippa was using that power now. Her chocolate eyes were as wide as she could make them and her rosy lips were formed into the perfect pout.

"Please," her voice was just the right pitch to tug at his heart strings, too.

"…what do you want to sing?"

In the front seat, the Bennetts smiled as their children began to sing _Santa Claus is Coming to Town_. Despite Jamie's protests, his voice was a pleasant alto that harmonized wonderfully with Pippa's melodic soprano.

As the twins warned of Santa's famous list, the wail of a fire engine rang out, breaking the night's calm. The sudden sound made the twins cut off the song and shiver with a long-forgotten fear.

* * *

Jack could barely breathe and he'd lost sight of the key – the smoke was just too thick. He fell to his knees, his body convulsing with a coughing fit, and began to search along the floor for the elusive object. It had to have cooled by now.

He spotted it, almost immediately, as gleaming in the firelight. He reached out his hand and hesitantly brushed his fingers along its body. The metal was warm to the touch, but not unbearably so.

He grabbed the key and looked up into the cloud of smoke that had formed above his head. He couldn't even see where the lock was anymore, though he knew he was still beside the door. He reached out and placed his palm against the wood. It was already starting to absorb the fire's heat. Jack wondered how long he had before the door burst into flames as well. Probably not long.

Banishing these thoughts from his mind, he began to feel along the door for the keyhole. Once his hand brushed against the metal opening he took a deep breath, raised to his full height, and unlocked the door. A quick push later, he was stumbling into the chilly night air and out of the inferno. The blast of cold made his sweat-soaked body shiver, but he didn't have time to catch his breath and rest.

Instead, he used the light of the burning booths to find his phone in the frozen dirt. Praying that Pitch hadn't broken it, Jack flipped the powder blue gadget open and grinned when he was met with the familiar snowy background. He quickly ran his fingers over the display and dialed 9-1-1.

"9-1-1. What is the nature of your emergency?"

"Fire!" he coughed into the phone, "There's a fire at the rec center."

The operator fired off a rapid series of questions about the nature of the fire, which Jack answered as best he could.

Once the technical information had been gathered, the woman moved on to making sure Jack was okay. "Do you need me to stay on the line with you, sweetie?"

"No, no. I should be okay. I want to see if there's anything around here I can use to slow the blaze."

"They'll be there soon, hon. You sound like you breathed in a lot of smoke. I want you to get well away from that fire, alright?"

He didn't even bother to reply, simply clicking the phone shut as the operator spoke. What was he supposed to do now? He had to do something to try and stop the fire!

Jack wasn't thinking clearly at this point. He'd had a plan: get out and get help, and that had been accomplished. Now the shock was starting to set in. As he watched Aster's dreamlike paintings of winter turn to black nightmares, he started to breathe faster and faster, gulping in the clean air. The world was suddenly spinning, blurring together into a tapestry of light and dark with no distinct forms. He took a step forward and stumbled to his knees. The burning shed transformed into a two story, red brick house and he was suddenly ten years old again. He didn't even register that it was snowing.

The firemen arrived to find Jack still in this position, staring into the fire with terror-filled eyes, mumbling comforting words.

They pulled him to his feet and away from the blaze. He had to be dragged, unable to move of his own free will.

"He's in shock!"

"Quick, somebody get him in the ambulance!"

He was guided up a step and made to lay down on something hard. The sound of sirens filled his ears and someone said, "Wait, isn't that Jack Frost?"

None of it registered. All he could see was his mother, running out of his life forever, and all he could hear was the sobs of two frightened toddlers.

* * *

"Jack didn't do it!" Aster was on his feet, shouting at the man before him. His father reached out and took hold of Aster's shoulder, pulling him back.

"Please, sir. We were told that Jack called the police."

The uniformed officer stared at the group before him nervously. He'd never had to deal with something like this before. Burgess was a quiet town. They'd never had an arson before. "Yes, he did."

"So that means that he didn't do it!"

"Aster!" Nick's voice was sharp and forceful. Aster was a good friend, but his temper was the last thing they needed right now.

"Nick, you know Jack wouldn't." Aster was looking around the group for support now. The whole gang had received calls from Mr. Kaufman that they needed to come to Burgess with their parents as soon as possible. He hadn't told them the fine details, but he'd said enough. They hadn't even seen the smoldering wreckage of the shed yet. Aster had insisted they go to the police station first and find out, "What the bloody hell is going on!"

"Just let him tell us what happened, Aster." Ana's voice was nearly breaking and she looked heartbroken. Her red-rimmed eyes betrayed the fact that she'd cried the entire drive over. Sandy took her hand in his and held it tightly. She squeezed back, a silent thanks, as the officer cleared his throat and explained.

"We've examined the scene of the fire now. Mr. Frost had the key to shed and there was no forced entry. That made us suspicious. The real damning evidence was inside of the shed, though. An unused Molotov cocktail and a used lighter. I'm sorry kids, but both had only his fingerprints on them. There's no way that anyone else did it."

Aster wilted, slumping his shoulders in a defeated posture. "But, why?"

Nick had clenched his fists and placed a comforting hand on Ana's shoulder. Sandy was hugging her as she held back tears.

The man held his hands before him, a gesture of confusion. "I don't know, kid. If there was a person I'd pick as least-likely arsonist, it would be Nathaniel and Emma Frost's kid."

Ana's tears disappeared and the room's occupants all looked at the man inquisitively. Nick spoke now. "You knew Jack's parents?"

"Everyone knew the Frosts! Those two were the greatest forces of good in this community for years. Nathaniel was a good friend of mine and my son was in Jack's grade." The man took off his cap and sat down, looking troubled. "Trust me, none of us want this to be true. There isn't a member of the force who doesn't remember the Frosts. It's been only seven years, and we were all here when they died. I was even at the scene when they brought out the bodies."

The adults were lost by now, but the teens understood what the man was talking about. They knew there was nothing they could do. With silent nods of thanks they filed out, leaving the man to his contemplations. Their parents followed.

As they got back in their cars and drove to the scene of the fire, Aster felt the burning pain in his throat that signaled tears would soon follow, but choked it back. It was only when he looked into the shed and saw all of their work collapsed into a pile of burned ashes that he gave up the last shred of hope he'd kept alive.

For the first time in years he allowed his father to hold him protectively, like a child, and sobbed into his chest.


	21. A Desperate Plea

Jack came out of his stupor within an hour of arriving at the hospital, only to be greeted by a grave-faced officer who'd demanded his fingerprints. Jack had supplied them and, when the Overlands arrived, it was to find their foster son cuffed to his hospital bed. An apologetic nurse explained that the police had reason to believe Jack had set fire to a piece of public property. Jack protested his innocence, but after the police had come and given them all the evidence, even the Overlands couldn't argue the facts.

They'd stood in the hallway, talking in hushed voices for a few minutes, before coming back into the room. Mr. Overland spoke first, "Jack, why?"

Jack's face hardened into rage. After begging to police to listen to his story, finding his own guardian's unable to believe him was more than he could take. Icy walls that had slowly melted over the past months reformed in a matter of seconds, thicker than ever before. "I told you, I didn't do it! It was Pitch!"

His foster mother looked at him in desperation, "Jack, why would Pitch do something like that?"

"Because he's insane!"

"Son, the Narvon police went to Pitch's house. He was asleep in his bed and his mother said he hadn't even left the house since sunset."

"Don't call me that."

The Overlands looked confused.

"Don't you dare call me son."

"Jack." Mrs. Overland's voice was low and pleading.

Jack turned away from them, refusing to look them in the eye. "Go. Just leave me alone."

Unsure what to do or say, they left. When the door closed, Jack lay back onto the bed, the handcuffs jingling at the motion. _Why Pitch? Why?_

He could still see his insane former friend standing there in the shadows of the light, laughing. The light. Jack sat back up so fast his head spun a bit. That bike! How in the world had Pitch gotten that bike? Pitch didn't have a bike anymore.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the memory, trying to remember what the bike looked like. Had it really been the bike he thought it was? That was impossible. As he concentrated on the bike, a different image surfaced. In this one, Pitch was standing by the same bike in a parking lot at twilight. A familiar parking lot. The one at the cemetery.

When had they gone there? He'd taken Pitch to see his parents grave once before, long ago. They'd gone into Burgess one day back in middle school and Pitch had asked to see the gravesite on the way back to the bus. As far as Jack knew, that was the only time Pitch had ever gone to the place where his parents were buried. He'd certainly never taken Jack there on his bike. So where did this memory come from?

He tried to remember. He could feel a pounding headache start to throb at his temple, but he had a feeling this was something he needed to recall. He could see Pitch getting on the bike in the memory, offering Jack a seat behind him. Why was Pitch so blurry? Oh, right, he'd been crying. Why had he been crying?

His head really was pounding now. It hurt so bad that he wanted to just close his eyes and drift into nothingness, but he pressed on. Instead of moving forward, the memory moved backwards. Pitch was standing before him with a bouquet of flowers. That was strange. When had Pitch ever bought him flowers? No, not him. Those flowers were for someone else. Jack tried to look around the memory, but all he could see was Pitch standing there with flowers. He started to give up, letting the memory fade away, when he suddenly heard Pitch's voice echo through his mind, _"I didn't think you'd be here."_

That tiny bit of sound opened the floodgates. The memories surged back. The call from Mr. Bennett, waiting by the grave, Pitch taking him home… Wait, Pitch didn't take him home. Pitch took him to the woods.

When Pitch had told him what happened that day, he'd said that they went out for a ride because Jack had been down about his parents' death. He said they'd left from Narvon, too. That had seemed to fit at the time and Jack had accepted this as the truth. It wasn't. Pitch had lied!

That really shouldn't have surprised him as much as it did.

He concentrated on those last few moments before he'd been struck. He'd asked Pitch why they were there and, and Pitch had laughed! It hadn't been a happy laugh, either. It was the same kind of laugh that he'd let out in the shed.

The truth really hit home then. Pitch had been the one who attacked him. He remembered asking if that was what had happened when he first woke up from his coma, but he'd forgotten about that, too. What else had he forgotten?

Then another thought occurred. If Pitch had attacked him, then who hurt Pitch?

_"I really should have thought a bit more before I went and broke my leg."_

_"Yeah, because you had a choice in the matter."_

Jack almost threw up. Oh, dear God, Pitch had done that to himself. He'd always known that Pitch was a little on the crazy side, but this? Never in a million years would he have dreamed of this.

* * *

Pitch was nearly sobbing with joy as he lay in his room. He'd made it home with enough time to sneak into his room and crawl into bed before the police had shown up. His idiot of a mother hadn't even noticed his absence. Only Jack knew the truth, and what proof did he have? Nothing. Pitch had made sure of that.

His car had no soil samples that could be linked to the field on its tires, the clothing he'd worn had been left with his bike in the woods, the gloves he'd worn had spared his prints getting on anything, and he had the perfect alibi. No one was ever going to trust Jack Frost again.

Now, all that remained was to play the devastated friend over the next week and revel in the misery of the gang as they mourned the loss of their precious fair. Getting close to them had been so well worth it. Now he got to watch them break up close.

* * *

Warning the gang was Jack's only concern now. He pushed the buzzer for the nurse repeatedly until a flustered young woman came into the room. She didn't approach Jack's bed, almost as if she was afraid of him.

She probably was.

"Can I have my cellphone? Or any phone, really. I need to call someone." Jack tried to keep his voice slow and calm to not panic the girl any further.

"Um, I don't know if that's allowed," her voice was actually shaking. Jack took a deep breath. This was not the time for anger or fear – he needed to make this woman trust him.

He smiled, as much as it hurt to even feign happiness. His friends needed him. "Look, it's okay. Can you just ask whoever's in charge of taking care of me if it's alright? I just want to call my friends and let them know what's going on. I did almost die tonight."

He let out a tiny laugh and the nurse seemed to loosen up. Even with an arson charge hanging over his head, Jack was still able to summon up his true nature. "I think the head nurse knows that. Wait here, I'll go check."

Jack jingled the cuffs, "Well, if you insist."

She did laugh at that and hurried out of the room. Dark humor. It wasn't his normal style, but whatever did the trick. She soon returned with his cell phone. "They brought this in with you, but the nurses wanted to wait until you were up before returning it and then…"

Jack gave her the biggest grin he could summon, "You are a lifesaver! Thank you."

She blushed and handed him the phone, "You're welcome."

She stood there, gazing at him for a moment, before letting out a small giggle and running from the room.

Okay, that was a bit strange, but now he had his phone. The only question now was, would Aster even pick up?

* * *

"Why would Jack do that?" Ana was holding an old fairy doll in her arms and sitting on her bed. The others were sitting in various places around her room. Sandy and Nick leaned against the far wall and Aster was sitting backwards in her desk chair. Their parents had agreed that letting the gang talk it out was probably the best thing to do. "It doesn't make any sense. You'd think he hated fire."

"Well, he did help Pitch burn the props last year," Aster offered gloomily, staring into nothing.

Nick perked up a bit at that. "Wait! Did anyone even call Pitch and let him know what happened?"

The others shook their heads.

"He's probably sleeping peacefully right now, dreaming of how awesome the fair is going to be," Ana whispered, wishing she could be so lucky.

"Hey, it's not like we can't still hold the fair. It'll just be a little less wonderful than we'd planned." Nick tried to sound cheerful, but failed miserably.

"Yeah, sure. I mean, it'll just look awful and we'll all be walking around acting like Christmas was canceled due to Jack, but we can still hold it."

The other's winced at Aster's harsh predication, but they couldn't argue with it.

_"The more I learn…"_

Aster pulled his phone from his pocket and stared at it disbelievingly.

_"…the more I see…"_

"Aster, what's wrong?" Ana questioned.

"Jack's calling."

_"…the less the world impassions me."_

They were all looking at the green phone now.

_"The hungry heart…"_

"Are you going to answer?" Nick asked.

"I, I don't know."

_"..the roving eye…"_

Sandy got up from his seat and grabbed the phone, flipped it open, and shoved it to Aster's ear. Aster made a noise of surprise, enough for Jack to know he was there.

"Aster!"

Silence was the only answer.

"Aster, listen, you don't even need to answer. Just listen, okay?"

Aster remained silent, waiting for Jack to continue. Sandy was still holding the phone.

"You guys are all in danger."

Aster scoffed, but Jack continued.

"I didn't start the fire, Pitch did. He's out to ruin everything. I don't know why, he just is. He's even the one who attacked me in the woods!"

Now Aster did speak, "Oh come on, Jack. If you're going to lie to me, at least make it believable, mate! Pitch was attacked too."

In his hospital room Jack squeezed his eyes shut, praying he could reach Aster, "No, he wasn't. Pitch did that to himself."

Aster grabbed the phone from Sandy and got to his feet, green eyes bright with anger and hurt. "Frost, give me one reason why I should listen to another word you say!"

"Because I would never set fire to anything, let alone your paintings." Jack's voice was calm, but full of emotion and honesty.

Aster gripped his phone tightly, the burning feeling returning to his throat.

"Jack, I…" Aster's voice broke and Ana got up from her spot on the bed, wrapping her thin arms around his torso. He wrapped his free arm around her and continued, "I want to believe you. I can't see you doing this to us, but all the evidence…"

"A set up." Jack explained. "Listen, I know this all looks bad, but Pitch made one mistake. When he came to the field he was on his motorcycle."

Aster didn't get it. "Huh?"

"His motorcycle! He still has it! If he still has that then the police will question the validity of his claims. If you can find it, then there's a chance we can prove he did it."

Aster looked around his room at his anxiously watching friends. Only Sandy seemed calm. "I'm putting you on speaker phone. The others are all here."

A push of a button and Jack's voice filled the room. "Hey gang."

Nick got to his feet and came to stand by Sandy, Aster, and Ana. "Hey, Jack. I get the feeling you've convinced Aster to at least consider that you're not guilty?"

"Yeah, he has."

Tears filled Jack's eyes as Aster's deep voice reached his ear. He was smiling now, "Okay, so here's what's going on. Pitch still has his motorcycle. He used it to get to the shed. He met me there after Pippa's concert and he's the one who started the fire. I'm sorry, guys. I should have stopped him."

"Jack," Ana's sweet voice interrupted his ramble, "focus. We need you to tell us the details. There will be time for apologies and forgiveness later."

Ana. Always the detail-oriented one. "Right. If Pitch still has that bike, then the police will know that something is up with his story about the attack."

Nick opened his mouth to ask what Jack was going on about, but Aster shook his head. They needed to hear what Jack had to say.

"The bike won't be at his house. His mom is oblivious, but not that oblivious. That means he's got it hidden somewhere. I know Pitch. I've spent years following him around. If he thinks he knows a secret place, then he never believes anyone will be able to think of it. That means the bike is probably still wherever he hid it after the attack."

"And where is that, exactly?"

Jack would have figured this bit was obvious. "The woods where you guys found me, of course."


	22. Justice

Nick pulled the Jeep to a stop and turned to his passengers. "How exactly do you guys wanna do this?"

Aster looked out into the shadowed forest and scowled. This was rural Maine. The forest probably went on for miles. "Get out and just start walking, I guess."

In the back, Sandy zipped up his winter coat and jumped out of the Jeep, landing on the snow-covered ground. The diminutive teen was worried about Jack. The albino had only just started to really trust them, and now this had happened.

Aster and Nick followed his example and exited the car as well. They hadn't told anyone about this fool's errand, meaning Ana had been stuck at home. Nick clicked on his flashlight and pointed it into the surrounding trees. "Well, we may as well start from the pond and move out."

"No," Aster immediately rejected the proposal, "the police already searched this area and didn't find the bike. That would just be a waste of time."

"Okay then, what's your brilliant idea?" Nick asked, exasperatedly.

"I don't know! Just not that!"

Whilst the two bickered, Sandy had started to trudge along the road, looking up into the night sky. He'd always loved the peace and beauty of the night. Turning his gaze from the heavens, he looked down to the ground. The fresh, unmarred snow was glimmering in the faint light of the stars. Then his gaze fell upon a single line of tread marks, perfectly preserved in the snow. On either side of this track was the imprint of a car's tires. Whatever made these only went one way along this road.

Sandy started to follow the tracks, not noticing that the others had stopped bickering and were now watching him curiously.

"Sandy!" Now he did stop, turning around at Nick's cry. "What are you doing?"

Sandy merely pointed to the tracks and started walking once more.

Nick and Aster exchanged confused glances and followed Sandy as he moved along the old road.

They walked for a long time, their faces growing numb from cold, but the tracks finally veered from the path and out into the woods. Cautiously, they left the path and trudged through the trees. The only sound was the crunching of snow and the snapping of twigs.

Aster spotted it first and pointed his flashlight at it. "Look at that!"

In a grove of pine trees that were packed so tightly you could barely see between their branches, the gleam of something metal was shining in the flashlight beam. The trio hurried over and pushed the branches aside to reveal a black motorcycle, a gas can, and a pile of discarded clothing.

Aster moved forward to examine the items, but Sandy stopped him. The little teen gave him a pointed look. "Oh, right. Probably shouldn't mess with the evidence."

Sandy nodded and Nick pulled out his phone. "Who should we call?"

Aster rested his chin in his hand, thinking, "Do you still have the emergency number for the police in your phone?"

"Yeah."

"We should probably call that number then."

"Oh, right."

Sandy shook his head in exasperation as Nick punched a few buttons and held the phone to his ear. He loved his friends, but they worried him some times.

* * *

The sound of loud bangs woke Pitch up from a peaceful dream full of others' misery and fear. He squinted at his clock with sleepy heavy eyes. Bright red letters read 4:04am. Another bang made him jump. What was going on?

The sound of a door opening and closing reached his ear. His mother was awake. Good, she could take care of this.

He lay back against his pillow and closed his eyes, ready to drift off once more, when the sound of raised voices met his ears. He couldn't make out the words, but they were definitely male. A tiny feeling of nervousness wormed its way into his stomach and he got out of bed, intent on see what was going on.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but we have to take him."

If Pitch had been more awake, he would have run at these words, but he wasn't so he came into sight of the front door. He stopped in his tracks. His mother was standing in the open doorway, staring at two uniformed police officers, Aster Bunnymund, Sanderson Mansnoozie, and Nicholas North. Pitch's heart began to pound. No. They couldn't have.

Sandy noticed Pitch and pointed at him. The officer's gazes left the trembling form of his mother and fell on Pitch. "Pitch Black, you're under arrest for arson and attempted murder."

His mother let out a cry of horror as Pitch turned to run, but Aster darted into the house and grabbed him before he could take more than a few hurried steps towards the back door.

The two teens fell to the floor and Pitch began to struggle, but Aster held him tight while the officers quickly entered the house. They were roughly pulled apart and a pair of silver handcuffs was strapped to Pitch's hands.

The pajama-clad teen glared at the gang. Aster grinned. "And you would have gotten away with it if it weren't for us meddling kids, right?"

Pitch growled, but remained silent as the officers led him out of the house. Once he was locked in the police cruiser one of the men returned. "Okay kids, you should get home. We'll take it from here."

He then turned to the distraught Mrs. Black, but Aster interrupted him. "Wait, what about Jack?"

"You mean Jack Frost? Well, he's not off the hook just yet, but it looks like he'll probably be cleared of all charges. You boys did good."

Aster beamed as Sandy and Nick exchanged ecstatic grins.

"Now, go home and get some sleep! I'm sure your folks are worried sick."

* * *

Jack woke up as the morning sun poured into his window. He'd stayed up, waiting to hear if Aster and the others had found the bike, but no word had come. Dismayed, he'd finally given up and gone to sleep around three. He lay still in his bed, watching the sunbeams play along the floor. He wondered what prison would be like. Not very much fun, probably.

A knock interrupted him musings and he turned to find Mr. Kaufman standing in the doorway.

Jack sat up, "Sir, I can explain what happened last night. I'm so sorry about the shed. I…"

Mr. Kaufman raised a hand and Jack fell silent. "Jackson Nathaniel Frost. If you believe that I even considered the notion that you set fire to those booths, then you're a fool."

Jack bit back the urge to respond the jibe and continued to listen.

"I don't know what's going to happen in the coming days, but I will do my best to help clear your name. Now, I did not come here to talk about the idiotic charges against you. I came here to give you something. May I sit?"

Jack nodded and Mr. Kaufman sat down in the chair by his bed, purposely ignoring the cuffs attaching the boy to it. From his pocket he pulled a key and held it out to the puzzled youth. "Do you have any idea what this unlocks, child?"

Jack took the key and shook his head.

"Do you remember what I did before I retired and took over running the rec center?"

"Of course. You were a lawyer."

Mr. Kaufman smiled. "Indeed I was. Do you know that even a retired lawyer can make a will?"

Jack shrugged, "I'd never really thought about it before. What's that got to do with me?"

"I've never married, you know. I have no children of my own. It's why I started to work at the rec center, so I could be around kids. I always thought that I'd grow close to the children who came into my life. I never expected to find the son I'd always wanted in an adult.

"Your mother and father treated me like a member of their family from the day I met them, and I came to love them as my own. I was overjoyed when you were born, and I loved watching you grow up. So, when Nathaniel and Emma came to me and ask for my guidance on writing their will, I told them I'd write it for them. You were only five at the time. Jamie and Pippa weren't even born yet.

"You know their wealth was left in equal parts to each of their children, I assume. Funds that will come into your possession on your eighteenth birthday."

Jack nodded, fascinated.

"But there was another stipulation. You, and only you, were left what is found in the room that key unlocks. I've kept it these past seven years and had planned to write you a letter about this part of your inheritance and mail it to your foster parents on the day you came of age. Then, to my shock, you came back into my life. As I looked at the grinning boy in a blue hoodie that had wandered into my kingdom, I realized I had done you a great wrong."

He reached forward and took Jack's hand, the key clasped between their two palms, "I'm sorry I never sought you out after the fire. I failed you. I was devastated at the loss of your parents, but that is no excuse for my actions. I abandoned you. I'm giving you this key now, just a bit early, and asking for your forgiveness."

Jack smiled softly into the sad eyes of the man who had been such a strong presence in his childhood. "Mr. Kaufman, there's nothing to forgive."

The old man stood up and hugged the teen who was more than willing to hug him back.

They were still hugging when a uniformed officer entered the room and removed Jack's cuffs, explaining the night's events in an embarrassed voice. Jack laughed with joy and Mr. Kaufman demanded all the details. Once the officer left, the old man sunk onto the edge of Jack's bed, resting his head in his hands. "I'm so glad you made friends with those four."

Jack grinned, "They're the best friends I could ever ask for. Now, how soon can I get out of this place?"

* * *

There were a thousand things to do if the gang still wanted to pull off the fair, but nothing mattered to them, save for seeing Jack.

"I don't know about this, Ana." Mrs. Romoli looked at her husband, waiting for his opinion on the matter.

"The boy's parents have all said yes?"

"Yes, dad. Nick will be here to pick me up any second. Please, we have to go and see Jack!" Ana clasped her hands before her, widening her violet eyes, the picture of innocence.

"Couldn't you see him after school, dear?" Her mother's deep-purple eyes were full of concern.

"Mom, this is more important that school! After everything that's happened we need to see him as soon as possible." Ana was getting desperate. What if they said no?

"Won't the police be at the hospital? What if they take you in for being truants?"

Trust her mom to immediately imagine the worst case scenario. "Not if you write me a note saying that I have your permission to be there. Plus, the police know who we are and they know what happened last night. There's no way they'll keep us apart!"

With a defeated sigh, Mr. Romoli got up from his breakfast and grabbed a sheet of paper from one of the many drawers lining the kitchen. "Alright, Ana, you win."

Ana wrapped her arms around her father with a squeal of, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Soon she was in the Jeep with the guys, listening to Blackmoor's Night's _Christmas Eve_, headed towards Burgess and Jack.


	23. Appendix II: List of Gang's Ringtones

In case anyone is interested, the follow list is the gang's ringtones for each other

(and don't worry, I'm posting a new chapter as soon as I've finished posting this, I just wanted to post it since a. I took the time to make it and b. I really should give credit for the song lyrics I've used)

**Ana's Phone (Pop theme)**

Aster – Colors of the Rainbow, By Italo Brothers

Nick – Why Couldn't It Be Christmas Everyday, By Bianca Ryan

Jack – Good Time, By Owlcity

Sandy – Castles in the Sky, By Ian Van Dahl

**Aster's Phone (Mature/Deep theme)**

Ana – Make You Believe, By Lucy Hale / The Lady is a Tramp, By Frank Sinatra (Ongoing Battle)

Nick –The Christmas Song, By Nat King Cole

Jack – Without Question, By Elton John

Sandy – Sound of Silence, By Simon and Garfunkel

**Nick's Phone (Christmas Theme)**

Ana – Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, By Tchaikovsky

Aster – You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch, From The Grinch

Jack – White Christmas, By Michael Buble

Sandy – Silent Night, By Josh Groban

**Jack's Phone (Mixed Theme)**

Ana – One Girl Revolution, By Superchick

Aster – When Can I See You Again, By Owlcity

Nick – The Chipmunk Song, By Alvin and the Chipmunks

Pitch – Shadows, By Lindsey Sterling

Sandy – Kyrie, By Mr. Mister

**Sandy's Phone – always on vibrate**


	24. A Gift from the Past

Jack called the nurse in and learned that, since he'd been under observation for over twelve hours now, the doctor had cleared him to leave. Once they'd heard this, Mr. Kaufman left to go and call Jack's foster parents and ask for permission to take the teen from the hospital. He wanted to show Jack what the key opened as soon as possible.

"_Switch on the sky and the stars glow for you…_" The sound of a ringtone poured from Jack's phone. He grinned as the song played on. Aster.

Leaning forward, he grabbed the device from the bedside table and flipped it open. "Thanks for telling me my name was cleared!"

"Oops," Aster's deep voice sounded a bit sheepish, "sorry, mate. What room are you in?"

Jack looked around for a number. He found it painted by the door in blocky, black lettering, "306, why?"

The door flying open was his answer. A grinning Aster gave him a mocking wave while Ana rushed past him to Jack's side. Nick and Sandy followed close behind.

"Shouldn't you guys be in school?" Jack tried to sound disapproving, but he was smiling too hard for it to have any real effect.

Aster chuckled and joined the gang at Jack's bedside, "With you stuck in here? Not on your nelly!"

Jack laughed and looked around the group, his eyes softening. His laughter died into a small smile and he ran pale fingers through snowy hair. "Guys, about last night. Thanks. I didn't know if you'd even pick up the phone when I called."

"We almost didn't!" Ana replied. "Sandy gets all the credit for that."

The golden-haired teen blushed lightly and gave a little bow.

The door opened once more, cutting off Jack's thanks, and Mr. Kaufman entered. Seeing the gang surrounding Jack, the old man couldn't help but smile. "Why am I not surprised to find you four here?"

The gang was certainly surprised to see him.

"Mr. Kaufman, good morning." Nick stepped forward and shook the man's hand. "Were you coming to visit Jack was well? Have you heard the good news?"

"Indeed I have. In fact, I've just been granted permission to take this young man out of this sterilized wasteland."

"Really?" Jack threw off his covers and started to get out of his bed, "That's awesome!"

He looked down at his hospital-gown-clad body and sighed. "You know, one of these days I'm actually going to get to take off my own clothes when I get to the hospital. Anyone know where they ended up?"

* * *

Jack's clothes, which reeked of smoke and were more than a little charred, were deemed completely unacceptable by everyone but him. Much to his annoyance, his opinion on the matter wasn't even considered. He was forced to wait with the other guys while Ana and Mr. Kaufman ran downtown and bought him a new outfit. In the half-hour lull this afforded them, he learned all about the previous night's adventure. When Aster told him about tackling Pitch, he just burst out laughing and gave the taller teen a massive hug. "I wish I could have seen it!"

The key he'd been firmly holding onto fell from his grasp as his arms encircled Aster. Sandy picked it up and handed it back to Jack, looking inquisitively at him. Jack grinned and started on his own story. He told them about how Mr. Kaufman had been a close friend of his father's when Jack was growing up and about the stipulations of his parents' will. When he reached the bit about the key, all of the guys adopted curious expressions. Sandy's overactive imagination immediately filled his mind with distracting images of a room full of glimmering treasure and booby traps, but he managed to keep most of his attention on Jack.

"What do you think it opens?" Nick asked.

Jack shrugged., "Not a clue. I mean, our old house isn't even there anymore. It wasn't structurally stable after the fire."

A thought struck Aster. "Hey, Jack."

"Yeah."

"When do you turn eighteen anyway?"

Jack suddenly blushed a light pink, "Oh, um, about that. It's no big deal. I haven't even celebrated my birthday in years anyway. You don't need to worry about it. It's a silly thing to celebrate anyway. It's not like I did anything."

Nick and Aster exchanged amused looks as Jack rambled on while Sandy crossed his arms, "Jack, we're your friends. It is out sacred duty to make sure your birthday is a day to be remembered."

"Nick's right, mate. You're not allowed to keep it a secret."

Jack had no escape route. He was surrounded. "Really, it's no big deal guys."

Nick folded his arms across his chest, "Jack, you have two options. Tell us yourself or we get it off Mr. Kaufman."

It wasn't much of an ultimatum, but it did make Jack let out a snort of nervous laughter. Looking anywhere but at the gang he mumbled out the word, "Thursday."

"Thursday!"

"You were going to let it skip right by it, weren't you?"

"Well, we do have a fair coming up in five days that we still have to pull off." A worried frown crossed Jack's pale lips. "You are still going to have the fair, right?"

Sandy nodded while Nick explained. "Well, we're going to try. It's not going to look anywhere near as impressive, but none of the crafts or anything were hurt. We're just going to have to have tables set up around the gym instead of booths."

Aster scowled at this. All his hard work burned to a crisp. The fair was going to look pretty stupid without booths, but he kept him opinion to himself for once. It wasn't like there was anything they could do about that little issue.

Jack looked incredibly relieved.

"We're back!" Ana strutted into the room, threw a shopping bag at Jack, and adopted a silly, French accent. "Now, darling, go and put these on."

The other boys moved out of the way and allowed Jack to get out of his bed. He peeked into the bag as he walked towards his bathroom and gave Ana an amused looked. "What is it with girls and playing dress-up."

She placed her hands on her hips and smirked at him, "Go. Change."

Grinning, he stepped into the restroom and closed the door.

He exited the bathroom a little more than a minute later. In place of his normal look of blue jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie, he was wearing a snug pair of black dress pants, an Egyptian-blue button-down shirt, and a formal, black jacket. It was a classy look that felt very out of place to the snowy haired teen. "Don't I need some sort of fedora if I'm gonna wear this?"

Mr. Kaufman, who had been standing in the doorway during this exchange, threw him one.

The teen caught it and stared down at the grey hat. He'd been joking.

Ana took the silence for dislike of her outfit. "Jack, what's wrong?"

He placed the hat on his head, completing the look. "Nothing's wrong."

His voice was soft, barely more than a whisper. "It's just, every time I turn around, you guys are doing something else for me."

He glanced around at the familiar faces of the first true friends he'd had since his parent's deaths. "I've never actually thanked you guys for making me a part of this, have I? I can't tell you what it means to me to be able to help with the fair. For the past seven years I've just watched on the sidelines of my siblings' lives, wishing I could be a part. Now I'm finally doing something for them that will bring a bit of joy into their lives. This is the closest thing to a Christmas present I've ever been able to give them."

He clasped his hand behind his back, suddenly looking shyly at the ground. "Even if the fair isn't as cool as we wanted it to be, we're still making it happen. It's more than I thought was possible after last night. I expected you guys to give up, but you didn't. You didn't give up on the fair and," here his voice trembled slightly, "and you didn't give up on me. Thank you."

Ana stepped forward, closing the tiny distance between them, and wrapped him in a tight hug. "Don't go selling us short, silly. We never quit on something when we've got our minds set on it."

Jack hugged her back, smiling into her blonde hair. She was just tall enough so that he could rest his head against hers.

"You'd think you didn't have any faith in us," Aster joked, looking at the duo with tender eyes.

Jack looked up at him and grinned.

The somber moment gone, Mr. Kaufman gave a slight cough, drawing the group's attention to him. "Jack, I'll understand if you're not ready, but would you like to see what that key opens up?"

Jack drew his right hand from its position around Ana's slender frame and gently reached into his pocket, closing it around the key. "Yeah, I think I'd really like that."

He glanced around at his friends, all of whom had adopted expressions full of interest and laughed. "Yes, you guys can come."

Jack left the hospital laughing, surrounded by friends, and got into the passenger's seat of Mr. Kaufman's car. Nick hopped into the driver's side of the Jeep and the others piled into their normal spots. After Nick had started the car, Mr. Kaufman pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road, taking Jack to his parent's final gift.

* * *

Wherever the gang had expected to be taken, it certainly wasn't the rec center.

"Mr. Kaufman, I thought this place was public property. What could possibly be in here that belongs to me?" Jack was more than a little lost as the car pulled to a halt in the building's parking lot.

Mr. Kaufman turned off the engine and exited the car. He remained silent until Nick had parked the jeep and a very confused-looking quartet of teens had joined them. "I got permission from the mayor to keep it all here after your parents died, Jack. It was already being kept here at the time and we certainly didn't need the space."

He started towards the building and the group hurried after him as Jack asked, "Permission to keep what here?"

Mr. Kaufman just smiled and led them into the building. Instead of going down on of the normal hallway, though, he stopped just inside the door. He was standing before a large set of double doors that the gang had passed by many times when entering the building, but never really bothered to pay attention to.

From his pocket he took a ring of keys and placed one in the door's silver lock. A click later he was pushing it open, revealing a wide set of stairs. He started to descend and the gang followed.

"I never knew this place had a basement," Nick commented as they made the descent.

"Few do," was the mysterious reply.

At the bottom of the stairs was a large, cold, and almost empty room. The fluorescent lighting reveled a few old piles of sports equipment sitting against one wall, a few boxes marked "Climbing Supplies" along another, and a nearly empty shelf held boxes of light bulbs and janitorial supplies, "This is the storage area for the rec center, but we've never had much need for it. Come along."

He walked towards the back of the room. It was much shallower than the gang expected. On the back wall was a normal, grey door next to a white, metal roll-up door. He pointed to the normal one, "That leads to the boiler room and the machinery for the ice skating rink."

Then he pointed to the metal one, "And this one is Jack's. It was meant to be a place for us to store any valuables we'd acquire over the years and I wanted to store it all somewhere safe."

Mr. Kaufman stepped aside and motioned for Jack to come forward. He did so, pulling the key from his pocket. His heart was pounding as he knelt to the ground and placed the key into the door's padlock, then pushed it open.

The metal rolled into the ceiling, making a clacking noise as it did so. Inside lay a room full of large objects leaning against walls, each other, or simply resting on the floor. Each was covered with a blanket. Jack looked around uncertainly as Mr. Kaufman reached in and flicked on the light. "What is all this?"

"Why don't you go and look?"

The others watched with bated breath as Jack nervously took hold of the blanket covering the closest object. With a shiver of anticipation he pulled away the cloth, letting it fall to the floor by his side.

Jack gasped, staring at the object before him. The cloth dropped from his hands as he reached forward and ran his fingers along the painted wood. Then he smiled and leaned forward, resting his head against the faded image of a fairy. Memories of music and laughter filled his mind as he closed his eyes, emotions surging through him and making him tremble.

He stayed like that for a while, the others waiting for him to say something. When he was finally able to speak again he said, "I always assumed that these things were thrown out."

Mr. Kaufman came to stand by Jack, placing a firm hand on the boys shoulder. "There was talk of throwing them out, but that wasn't anyone's choice to make, save yours. Your parents bought the materials and made these things themselves. No public funds were used so they weren't public property. They belonged solely to the Frosts. I think they wanted to make sure that went to someone who would make a better use for them than firewood if something happened. It was an odd request to put these things into their will, but I supported the idea wholeheartedly. It's all here."

Jack walked from object to object, pulling off the cloths that had hidden them for so long. When he had finished he was standing amidst the entirety of the set pieces his parents had created so long ago for the summer festival.


	25. Repainting the past

The gang had watched the pieces be reveled in silence, allowing Jack to have his moment. Now that they were all in the open, though, Ana spoke. "Jack, what is all this stuff?"

He turned to face them. His pale, blue eyes looked a bit watery, but his face was the picture of happiness. "Guys, this is… Well, it's…."

He grasped for the words, but they wouldn't come. He gave Mr. Kaufman a pleading look and the old man took over. "When Emma and Nathaniel Frost moved to Burgess there wasn't much in this town in way of children's activities. They loved kids and didn't have their own yet, so they offered to organize some events for the local children. The biggest of these was a festival they held every summer. It started off as a small thing, just a couple of water games and a story teller, but by the time Jack came around, it was the most looked-forward-to day of the summer.

"The Frosts ran the whole thing. They organized the events, got the volunteers together, and funded a good portion of the expenses. When they died, though, it died with them. No one wanted the task of trying to take their places. These things were the various set pieces Emma and Nathaniel made over the years. Jack, shall I explain their purpose or would you like to take over now?"

Having finally reigned in his emotions, that was all the invitation Jack needed. He pointed to the piece he'd uncovered first, a large stage and pieces of what looked like a fairy-tale castle. "This was the story stage, the first thing they ever made. It was always at the very heart of the fair. The local acting group would always do a show, my mom and her friends would sing, and Mr. Kaufman would tell us stories."

He rushed to stand by a pile of identically-shaped pieces, each painted with its own color scheme. "And these were the game booths! We had different games every year. My parents would always ask me what I wanted to play and make that the main event."

Now he was standing by a larger version of the game booths that was painted with images of stuffed animals and toys. "And this was the prize booth!"

He moved to a pile of stakes and a large, white cloth. "Oh, and this was the food tent! My mom always made these little tarts in the shape of a heart and filled them with homemade jellies. There were caramel apples, too. Oh, and hot dogs! I ate so many one year I got sick!"

He came to the last part of the set now. It was a wide board with an arch cut out. Its sides were decorated with images of smiling children, fantasy creatures, and vibrant colors, "And this was the official entrance!"

He knelt down beside the arch and took it in his hands. "Aster, can you help me with this?"

Together they raised the arch to standing height. Braces were attached to its back that could be pushed out to make it free standing. They did so and let go on the heavy piece of wood. On the back of the arch, instead of images of fantasy, was a rainbow tapestry of handprints.

Only Jack and Aster could see them, though; so they motioned for the others to join them. Once they were all able to see Jack explained, "Every year, anyone who helped with the fair could put their handprint of the back of the arch and sign their name."

Jack began to point out different handprints from over the years, reminiscing about the things those people had done, until he came to the bottom of the arch. In sky blue paint were two hand prints, side by side – his parents'. His voice faltered for a moment, but he kept talking. "And that's everything."

"Wow."

Jack grinned appreciatively at Aster's reaction and motioned around the room. "Go ahead, look around."

Jack watched as they explored until his eyes met those of Mr. Kaufman. The two shared a series of looks, an unvoiced conversation. When they'd finished, both were smiling: Mr. Kaufman with immense pride and Jack with a mix of embarrassment and determination.

He walked through the room and came to stand by Aster's side. While the Australian looked at the imagery painted on the face of one of the game booths Jack spoke. "So, think we could repaint all of this by Saturday?"

"Probably." Then Aster realized what Jack had asked. He turned to stare at the teen in horror. "WHAT?"

Jack ignored his second reaction and beamed at him, "Great! A couple of us could come tomorrow after school and paint while the rest work on finishing up the prep work for Saturday. Or we could even start tonight!"

They were all staring at him now.

Jack ignored the stares, "Ana, do you think we can make these work for our layout? There aren't enough booths, only eight, but we could set it up so that we have a booth and then a boothless table and then a booth so everything would _feel_ like it had its own booth."

Ana gaped at him. "Jack, these things are all you have left from your parents. We can't just repaint them!"

He ignored her, too. "And Nick, can you check over everything and make sure it's still in good condition? I'm certain it will be, but you can't be too careful with things like this."

"Jack, we can't…"

Jack rolled his eyes and finally acknowledged his friends protests. "Guys, my parents made these things to bring happiness to children. For seven years they've laid down here, collecting dust, bringing joy to no one but termites and spiders. If I didn't use these them to make our fair be the best it could be then I would be doing their memory a great wrong."

He smiled at the gang, "My parents left these thing to me so that I could use them to continue their work, not so that I could look at the pretty pictures they painted on them. It's time I did that."

No one said a word. Then, Aster ran his tan hand along the blue paint of the game booth beside him and sighed. "They're a different size then our booths were, but with a little redesign I can make them work. There's plenty of paint left."

Ana moved her right arm so that it was resting loosely on her left, a nervous posture she sometimes adopted. "They look like they're actually bigger than our booths, truth be told, and your idea for the layout would work perfectly."

"I'll start looking over them now to make sure they're structurally sound."

Jack gave Nick a small bow as the large teen began to look over the pieces of the stage.

It was awkward at first, making plans to remodel these things, but Jack's enthusiasm for the project soon had the gang laughing and smiling once more.

* * *

A camera flash lit up the tiny room, illuminating the painted wood of the final game booth.

"That's the last one," Jack said, turning off Ana's camera.

Aster nodded. "Ready to get painting?"

After Nick had given the all-clear for using the summer festival pieces, the gang had driven back to Narvon and collected the paint from his workshop. Jack and Aster had changed into old clothes, borrowed the Bunnymund's car, and driven back to Burgess to get started on repainting, leaving the others to work on the last minute-details for the fair.

Jack grinned and gave his friend a thumbs up. "I still can't believe that you're letting me help you with this!"

"And I can't believe you're letting us paint over these!" Aster replied, shaking his head in amusement. When he'd asked Jack if he'd like to help paint, the pale teen had been elated. To Aster, it had only seemed right that Jack should have a hand in any changes made to his inheritance.

Jack carefully placed the camera back in its protective case. "Stop acting so guilty! I want to do this!"

Aster made a grunting noise and started to unload the painting supplies from a canvas bag. "Alright. The first things we're going to repaint are the game booths."

He opened a can of white paint and dumped a good portion of it out into a metal tray. Then he squirted a bit of light-blue paint into it and mixed the two together. He added a bit more white and let the mixed paint drip off the end of a stirrer, examining the color. A nod of approval later he was motioning for Jack to join him. Together, they laid out a tarp along the floor of the main room and carried out the first of the booths, placing it on top of the plastic material.

At Aster's insistence, Jack made the first stroke, covering up the pink and green of a flower filled field with wintry white. Aster pretended to not notice as Jack's hands shook or the deep, steadying breath the albino took after he had finished the motion. He simply smiled back when Jack gave him his trademark grin. When the booth was done they stood up, giving aching knees a break, and admired their work. It was nowhere near as fancy as Aster's original creation, but it would do. In place of the finely-detailed, curling frost, snow covered villages, and moonlight skaters that had decorated many of the original booths, this one was a sunny winter day with snowmen in the foreground and a snowy forest of pines in the background.

Aster looped a paint covered hand around Jack's neck, a noise of appreciation escaping his dark lips. "You aren't a half bad painter, Jack."

Together they worked into the wee hours of the morning, managing to finish repainting all of the gaming booths before calling it quits. The drive back to Narvon passed in good-natured jibes and argument, with Aster dropping an exhausted Jack off at the Overland's at nearly two in the morning.

When Aster's car had disappeared into the night, Jack turned around and faced the Overland's house. After everything that had happened at the hospital he wasn't sure he wanted to see either of his foster parents just yet.

Unsurprisingly, they were waiting for him in the kitchen.

"Jack, please come in here."

Jack obliged his foster father's request reluctantly, and took his usual seat at the wooden table. The Overlands were huddled together at the far end, looking just as tired as he felt.

"Jack, where have you been?"

"I was helping with preparations for the Christmas fair, ma'am."

His return to his old formality made Mrs. Overland wince.

"I apologize for worrying you. I hadn't realized I'd be getting home so late."

This was the Jack they'd lived with for all those years. The polite young man who was always smiling, but never warm. Their actions at the hospital had ruined all the headway the pseudo-family had made since September.

"Jack, we're the ones who need to apologize." Mrs. Overland reached out to take Jack's hand, but stopped herself. "We didn't even give you a chance to explain yourself at the hospital. We immediately believed the police and that was wrong of us."

"We know that things can't go back to the way they were right away, but we want you to know…"

"Stop," Jack cut his foster father off, his expression troubled. He didn't want to hear this. "I… it's just…"

He ran a hand through his hair and let out a groan of annoyance. "Okay, let's try this again. I can't forgive you for the hospital, not completely, not yet."

Then Mr. Overland's shoulder slumped, and Mrs. Overland turned her gaze to her hands, which were firmly clasped in her lap. There was nothing they could say to that. They had been in the wrong and they knew it.

"But I also can't entirely blame you for how you acted." Jack was looking out the kitchen window now, frosty eyes focused on the winter sky. He continued on slowly, pondering each word before he said it. "You're used to me being a troublemaker and having to clean up my messes. While I still can't believe you thought I'd do something as horrible as start that fire, I can believe you would be more… inclined to believe the police over me."

He rose from the table and pushed in his chair, then looked at his foster parents. "Though I get that, it doesn't change the fact that you wouldn't even hear my side. I, I need time before we have this talk. That's the best I can offer you right now."

He was going to leave, but then a thought occurred to him, "I turn eighteen on Thursday. If you want, I'll pack my things and be gone by the end of the day. I'd like to stay here, though. At least until the end of high school, if you'll let me. I can pay you room and board with the money I'll be able to access now that I'm of age."

"Jack, you're welcome to stay with us for as long as you need, and you don't need to pay us." Mr. Overland sounded so defeated when he said these words that Jack almost turned around and smiled at the man, but he didn't. No more false smiles.

Instead, he nodded and left the room, climbing the old stairs and falling into his bed. The Overlands would never be his parents, but at least he didn't need to worry about finding a new home come Thursday.


	26. The Final Days

The next day passed in a blur. Jack woke up at the last possible minute and rushed to school, arriving just before the morning bell. The rest of the gang joined him in this bad habit, too sleep-deprived from the past few days to get up early enough for their morning meeting. After classes ended for the day, Jack and Aster took off for Burgess and their waiting paint job It was while they were in the middle of working on the stage that Jack's phone started to ring,

"_If all you see is how I look you miss the super chick within._"

Both boys groaned. Ana had been calling them seemingly non-stop to have them take measurements of things for her or run upstairs to check on something with Mr. Kaufman. Couldn't she have just called his cell phone? Yes, but, "It's so much more polite to ask him in person when we have the chance to do so."

Jack set down his brush and popped open the phone, putting her on speaker. "What is it now, Ana?"

"Guys, you're not going to believe what just happened? It's the most amazing thing ever!"

They exchanged bemused looks and Aster started painting once more.

"Mr. Black just gave us five thousand dollars!"

The brush clattered from Aster's hands, splattering paint across a smiling black bear sporting an elegant top hat. "Come again?"

"You heard me! After what Pitch did, his father decided that the only proper thing to do would be to give us a substantial donation to 'further our philanthropic endeavors.' His words, not mine."

Jack didn't look too comfortable with this, "Isn't that, like, blood money?"

He could practically hear Ana's eyes rolling when she replied, "It would be blood money if we were dropping the charges on Pitch or something like that. Mr. Black is just embarrassed that his son used his initial donation to gain our trust when all he'd wanted to do was help us out at Pitch's request."

Aster had notice Jack wince every time Ana said _that_ name and took note to not use it if at all possible. "And what exactly are we going to do with five thousand dollars four days before the fair, Ana?"

"For starters, I called the Burgess general store and they said it would be no problem to double our apple cider order and throw in some extra hot chocolate mix, and I called the rental place, too. They said we could get a second drink warmer and a popcorn machine for Saturday if we wanted them, which we obviously do. I also called the party store and got us two helium tanks and a bunch of snowflake balloons to match the theme, but we'll have to pick them up Friday since they don't open until ten and that's too close to start time. Obviously I had to call the stores before they closed so you two are the last ones to find out. Sorry!"

Nick's deep voice joined Ana's in speaking, "Hey, don't forget the best part!"

"What do you… how is that the best part?"

"Because it's like a dream come true, Ana!"

"For you!"

"Um," Jack interrupted, "what's the other good news?"

"It's nothing, Jack. The party shop asked us if we wanted to rent a Santa costume they had and I said yes. Nick's just _really_ excited because I said he could play Santa and hand out balloons since we have enough volunteers to cover the game booths and he's the right proportions for the costume."

Jack laughed while Aster made a snorting sound. "I can't think of anyone better, Nick."

Then an idea occurred to Ana, "Hey, if Nick's going to be Santa, you should be Jack Frost again!"

Hearing this, Jack looked at Aster, expecting the Australian to be sporting a mocking grin. Instead he was giving Jack an appraising look. "I'll support you on that front, Ana."

Jack gulped. Dress up in that outfit? But then, everyone would be able to see him. "I don't know guys…"

"Jack, I spent hours making that thing and you wore it for all of two!" This exasperated reply was followed by an, "Oooooh, good idea Sandy!"

"What now?" Jack asked nervously. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear this new, brilliant idea.

"He suggested that you should do a storytelling event, Jack," Ana explained for her silent friend. "There's a big gap in the entertainment schedule from three to four and you'd be the perfect way to fill it. We have lots of extra money now so you could even have props to use when you bring kids on stage, as I'm sure you will."

Wearing an outfit that would let everyone see him and making a spectacle of himself to make sure they did? This fell under the "worst idea ever" category. "Mr. Kaufman always told stories in the past. Maybe we should ask him?"

"Oh, right! That was the other reason I called. I need you guys you to see if Mr. Kaufman will let us rent out the ice rink. We'll pay for the staff and skates, I just think it would be an awesome addition to the fair."

Aster stood up and brushed off some dried flakes of paint. "I'll go ask him now, if he's even still here. You go ahead and convince this gumby to do your show idea, Ana."

Jack looked after Aster helplessly as Ana started to plead with him to help out. Nick joined in, telling him how much fun it would be, but Jack wouldn't budge. Then a tiny, excited voice came from the phone's speaker. "Jack, are you going to be the winter prince again and tell us stories?"

Jack glared at the phone. This was playing dirty and they knew it. "I don't know, Baby, I don't think I'd be very good at it."

"You would! You would!" He could just see her little face, formed into a tiny pout with her violet eyes all big and pleading. He knew exactly who had come up with this idea, too. He was going to have a word with Sandy about using children to make people do things.

"…alright, Baby, I'll do it for you, but you have to help me out up on stage if I get scared, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Alright, sweetie, give me back the phone now," he could tell Ana was grinning.

"But I wanna talk to Jack more!"

"You can talk to him all you want next time you see him, but right now he's got work to do." Ana's voice was growing louder, meaning she probably had the phone again. "Thanks again Jack. We'll talk to you later. Have fun painting!"

She hung up before he had a chance to reply.

When Aster arrived from talking with Mr. Kaufman, who had said yes to the ice skating idea, he found Jack working furiously at painting the stage with a huge scowl on his face.

"What happened?"

Jack glared up at him, "You abandoned me and they used underhanded tactics!"

Aster cocked his head to the side and have him a puzzled looked.

"They used Baby to get me to say yes."

Aster grinned and started to chuckle. _Good job Sandy._

Jack's glare just became more fierce and he went back to painting while a bemused Aster refilled their paint trough, still chuckling as he did so.

* * *

The repainting job was finished that night, and Wednesday found the whole gang working on last-minute preparations of various sorts until they were ready to collapse. Thursday they met up after school, piled into the Jeep, and headed to their base of operations – Ana's house – for another day of work.

Jack muffled a yawn as they got out of the car. Four o'clock in the afternoon and he was already exhausted. That didn't bode well for the coming weekend. Ana threw open the door to the house and they all entered. Surprisingly, the mini's weren't waiting for them.

"Where are the girls?" Jack asked, listening for the patter of little feet.

Ana looked worried, "I don't know. Come on, let's make sure everything's okay."

They walked down the hallway to the playroom, a worried Jack leading the way and thereby missing the grins the others were exchanging.

Inside the playroom five little girls were waiting amidst a sea of frosty-blue balloons and snow-white streamers with party hats on their little heads. "SURPRISE!"

The cry came from both the girls and the gang, all of whom were grinning at the gaping Jack. Hearing her cue, Mrs. Romoli entered from kitchen with a large cake, decorated in blue frosting with the words, "Happy Birthday, Jack," written in silver lettering. On top of the cake were two lit candles: one in the shape of an eight and the other in the shape of a one. Ana flicked out the lights for her mother, and everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to the still-shocked Jack.

When the song ended Jack didn't blow out the candles. The little girls looked at him worriedly and came to surround him.

"Jack, are you crying? Did we do something wrong?" Lea asked, tugging on his shirt.

Jack shook his head and sunk down to his knees, wiping away the tears in his eyes and grinning at them, "No, you guys did a great job. I'm just being silly. Now, who wants to help me blow out the candles?"

Mrs. Romoli bent down, allowing the girls access to the cake. With excited giggles, the little girls blew out the candles for Jack and Mrs. Romoli took the cake back to the kitchen in order to serve it onto plates. It was a small party, lasting only half an hour before the gang had to get back to work on the fair, but it was the best birthday Jack had had in years.

* * *

"Ready for tomorrow, guys?" Jamie asked as the twins and their friends ate lunch.

Claude swallowed the bite of sandwich he'd been chewing and grinned. "You bet! Free candy!"

Pipa laughed, "I'm more excited to hear Mrs. Jones sing with her group."

"Yeah, that'll be cool, but the ice skating is going to be the best," Jamie countered.

Others joined in, each adding what they were looking forward to the most. Mr. Kaufman had done a good job getting the children of Burgess excited for the fair. Now all that remained was for the gang to actually pull it off.


	27. The Fair: Part 1

Jack and Aster looked across the gymnasium at the repainted booths and stage, while Nick, Sandy, and Ana finished decorating the final Christmas tree. It was Friday evening, the day before the fair, and the gang had just finished setting up everything they could for the event. Tomorrow, they'd wake up early in the morning and rush around taking care of the remaining prep work, but for now they could just enjoy the sight of all their hard work starting to pay off. Jack wasn't enjoying it as much as he should have, though.

"I'm sorry," he murmured in a low voice so that only Aster could hear.

"Huh?" Aster looked at Jack in confusion.

"These booths are nothing compared to your original designs." Jack motioned to the nearest one, which had been decorated with present laden trees on a simple, red background. "It's my fault. Without me, Pitch would never have gotten a chance to ruin your booths."

Aster rolled his eyes. "He fooled all of us, mate."

Jack glanced at Aster and then back at the fair. "Yeah, but you wouldn't have given him a chance if it hadn't been for me."

Aster grabbed Jack's arm, turning him around so they were facing each other. The Australian rested his hands on the shorter teen's shoulders and stared into his pale, blue eyes. "Jack, stop being a whacker. This isn't like you. What's up?"

"Nothing," but the fact that Jack wouldn't meet his gaze told Aster otherwise. He took Jack's hand in his and dragged him out of the gym into the corridor that led to the building's entrance. When the door closed behind them Aster came to a stop and turned to face Jack.

"Talk."

"It's stupid. Just forget about it."

Jack turned to go back into the room, but Aster grabbed him again, pinning him to the wall. Jack stared into determined green eyes. "Talk."

Jack struggled a bit, but Aster was a lot stronger than him.

"Do you work out or something?" Aster didn't even crack a smile at the joke, still waiting for Jack to answer the question.

He could feel Jack's shoulder slump in his grasp as the albino gave up. Jack stared at the floor and whispered, "I make a mess everywhere I go."

Aster loosen his grasp lightly, "What's the supposed to mean?"

Jack took a deep breath and confessed, "When Pitch found out I was joining you guys, he told me all I do is make messes, and he was right."

There was silence between the two, then Aster let go and punched Jack in the arm.

"Hey!" Jack rubbed the spot, "What was that for?"

"For being a loony – that's what! We've known Pitch as long as you have, longer actually, and we've never trusted him. If anyone should have seen this coming it was us. Now stop beating yourself up, yah gumby!"

"I don't need to! I've got you to beat me up, apparently!" Jack griped, smiling now, but still rubbing his arm.

Aster grinned. "What are friends for?"

Sandy opened the door to the gym and motioned for the two to come back inside. The overhead lights had been turned off in the gym so only the Christmas tree lights were illuminating the room in an enchanting glow. Together, the whole gang walked up onto the stage and looked around the room.

Ana gave an appreciative nod. "Tomorrow is going to be awesome."

* * *

"You know you can't hide back here all day, right?" It was noon and the fair was in full swing, the sounds of laughter and carols echoing through the crowded room. Jack was hiding in the back of the food tent, helping to cook hot dogs. He gave Aster a sheepish grin.

"Just another hour, okay?"

"Nope, not gonna happen. Get him, girls!"

The minis and Sophie, who had been standing out of sight, rushed in and grabbed Jack, dragging him from the tent. Jack glared daggers at Aster when they went by, but the only response he got was an innocent smile and a little wave.

Aster turned to the woman who was running the tent and gave a tiny bow. "Sorry ma'am, but we need our snowy friend out on the fair floor."

She smiled back and hurried to grab another ream of plastic cups. "No complaints here, dear. I was terrified he'd get something on that lovely outfit and ruin it!"

Aster winked at her and turned to follow Jack and his fan girls. The snowy-haired teen was being dragged through the fair by the girls, attracting many surprised and amused glances from the fairgoers. Many of the adults obviously recognized the teen, but no one called out to him, much to Jack's relief.

"Girls, where are we going?"

"To play the games!" was the chorused reply.

His work done, Aster hurried off to his post at the arts and craft tent, trusting the girls to make sure Jack actually took part in the fair. The whole gang had agreed that they didn't care if Jack spent the whole day playing around instead of helping, as long as he got rid of his cold feet and had some fun. They just hoped that nothing happened with the Bennetts to ruin the day.

* * *

"Come on, Mom, we're already late! Everyone else is probably there by now!"

Jamie and Pippa were waiting by the door for their parents to leave for the fair. Mrs. Bennett came rushing down the stairs, putting in an earring as she walked. "Sorry dears, that phone call from your grandmother took longer than I thought!"

"Can we go now?" Jamie asked, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

"Yes, yes, get your coats on and get in the car. I'll go and get your father."

The twins did as they were told and hurried into the family's garage, piling into a blue minivan. The Bennetts soon joined them and the family started on its way to the fair.

Unsurprisingly, Pippa sang Christmas carols the whole way there and, for once, Jamie joined in without prompting.

* * *

When they got to the fair, the twins rushed inside to find their friends, leaving their parents to trail behind. They found Amber, Claude, and a few others working on making their own snow globes in a craft booth. The whole thing was being run by a tall, bronze-skinned teenager with a red bandana in his hair who stopped short when he saw Jamie and Pippa. His bright, green eyes widened a bit, but his mouth quickly formed into a smile. "Hey, did you two want to make a snow globe?"

"It's really fun, Pippa," Amber added, noticing her friend in the entryway. "Come and join us!"

Aster provided his best friend's siblings with snow globe kits and left them to work with their friends after a few simple instructions. It took a lot of effort for him to keep working and not stare at the two. The little boy was almost a carbon copy of Jack in face and mannerisms, as were the little girl's smile and laugh. No wonder Jack hid his face – it didn't take much to see the family resemblance.

The children finished their globes and wandered out into the fair after thanking Aster, who silently hoped Jack would be okay.

* * *

Through sheer dumb luck, the twins didn't even catch sight of Jack as they explored the fair. While they were munching on caramel apples and listening to carols, he was helping the little girl learn how to ice skate. By the time the twins made it to the ice rink, Jack had been dragged off to the craft tent, where Aster kept his mouth shut about his encounter with the twins and focused on making his baby sister giggle. When Nick was giving Pippa a balloon and trying not to let it show that he knew who she was, Jack was wiping ketchup off of Sophie's mouth on the opposite end of the room. Ana almost cried the first time she saw the kids, which had occurred while she was bringing more supplies to one of the game booths, but she had held it in and plastered a huge smile on her face.

Sandy, who was running the sound booth, also saw the former Frosts pass by several times. Each time he watched the children until they disappeared into the crowd. Every member of the gang could now see why the Overlands had warned them of possible doom. The ache they felt at the sight of Jamie and Pippa couldn't even compare to how they knew Jack had to feel every time he came to see them. They all found themselves subconsciously prepared to find Jack sobbing in a corner somewhere by the day's end.

When Jack came to the sound booth to get the mic he'd need for his performance, Sandy laid a comforting arm on his shoulder and gave him a big smile of encouragement. Jack nodded and strapped on the mic. He needed all the encouragement he could get.

* * *

Pippa, Jamie, and company made their way to the central stage. Pippa's choir director, Mrs. Jones, was scheduled to perform at four o'clock, and Amber wanted to watch the show that was going on beforehand, an interactive storyteller, saying that it sounded really fun. The kids found seats in the center of the crowd and watched as a tall man dressed like some sort of prince came onto the stage with a bucket of props. He introduced himself as Jack Frost, the spirit of winter, who was here to tell them a story. All of the children listened in wonder as the boy began to tell them the story of his best friend, the lovely winter princess, and the handsome prince of summer who had to travel to the land of darkness to save the world from an eternal night spell cast by the evil King of Shadows.

Different children volunteered to play the roles of the different characters the two heroes encountered along the way. Claude even got to play the evil king. When the storyteller had come to pick Claude and had seen Jamie and Pippa, he'd paused for a moment and then cleared his throat before moving on with the story. The twins didn't even realize they'd been the cause of the fumble, and Jack used all of his willpower to keep the story going.

"He's super cute!" Amber, whispered to Pippa as the storyteller led Claude away. She looked at the man on the stage. He was really cute, but something about him reminded her too much of Jamie to find him attractive. As she watched the story unfold, the similarities between this man and her brother really started to stand out, especially when he smiled. It was a bizarre experience. She'd have to tell Jamie about it once they got home because she doubted he'd notice at all.

When the show ended, Jamie and Pippa giggled as the boy made an exaggerated bow to his audience. They clapped loudly at the performance as the next group, Mrs. Jones' singing group, made their way onto the stage past the gathering of children. As they passed, Mrs. Jones caught sight of Pippa and Jamie standing in the crowd.

"Pippa, dear," she called to the little girl, "I was hoping to see you! Mr. Lawrence is sick so our show is going to go a little short and I wondered if you'd like to sing a song for us to flesh it out a bit."

The choir director winked at her favorite student, and the other band members nodded in agreement. Pippa grinned brightly and made her way over to the woman's side with Jamie in tow. "I'd love to!

She turned to her twin, "Jamie, you should sing with me!"

"Me?" Her twin shook his head. "No way!"

Pippa gave him her deadly pout, but not even that would sway her twin to sing in front of an audience. "No way, Pippa. Get someone else."

Pippa looked crestfallen. Jamie had never resisted her before. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a flash of white. She turned to find the source and saw Jack bending down and talking to a little girl with blonde hair by the edge of the stage. Fine, if Jamie wouldn't sing with her she'd just get the next best thing, a Jamie clone. Surprising everyone, she marched down the aisle to stand behind her big brother.

Jack felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned from Sophie to find himself looking into the wide, pleading, chocolate-brown eyes of his baby sister, "Will you sing with me?"


	28. The Fair: Part 2

"Will you sing with me?"

Jack stared at Pippa while Jamie hurried to stand by her, laughing. "Pippa, not everyone likes singing as much as you do! Sorry, she's always trying to make people sing with her. Sis, why are you bothering this guy?"

"Well," Pippa was blushing now, "He looks like you and so I thought, since you wouldn't, maybe he would?"

Jamie laughed harder and shook his head in amusement. "Pippa…"

"Sure, I'll sing with you," Jack choked out the words, interrupting Jamie. His baby sister was talking to him. She could have asked him to fly her to the moon and he would have said yes.

Pippa stuck her tongue out at her surprised twin, elated. "Great!"

She grabbed Jack's hand and pulled him along to where Mrs. Jones and her band were watching with a mix of shock and wonder. "Mrs. Jones, I found a singing partner!"

Jack was too busy staring at the perfect, little hand resting in his to really care what was happening, but he managed to tear his gaze away and give the woman who had once been his own choir teacher a high pitched, nearly hysteric sounding, "Hi."

"Hello, Jack," Mrs. Jones said, smiling awkwardly at the son of the woman who'd once led this same singing group. She silently asked Emma to watch over what was about to happen. "I think you chose a great partner, Pippa. So, what are you two going to sing?"

Pippa looked up at Jack, her hand still holding onto his. "Why don't you pick? I know most Christmas songs, so choose anything!"

Jack knelt down so he was on level with Pippa and did his best to keep his voice from cracking, "Anything?"

She nodded and beamed at him.

Jack thought about it for a minute, doing his best to keep from reaching out and hugging his sister. He knew all her favorite songs from years spent watching her sing and he chose his favorite of these. "How about _Baby, Please Come Home_?"

She bobbed her head excitedly and giggled. "I sang that as a solo just last weekend!"

Jack gulped. That giggle was going to be his undoing if he didn't keep it together, and he smiled softly at Pippa, "Huh, what are the odds?"

As Mrs. Jones informed them that she would be able to accompany that choice on the guitar, Jamie asked, "Should I go and get Mom and Dad, Pip?"

Pippa shook her head, "Nah, they've heard me sing this one a thousand times by now. Let them do whatever they're doing."

The male twin then turned to Jack, "Well, do you need to go and get your parents?"

"All their kids are here, so I'm pretty sure they're already watching," was all he could think to say in response.

Jamie cocked his head and shrugged before taking a seat in the front row beside Sophie and the minis. The little girls seemed to realize something big was happening and were sitting in uncharacteristic silence, watching Jack and the brown-haired girl by his side as they walked onto the stage together.

Mrs. Jones pulled out her guitar, looking warily at the still starstruck Jack, and began to tune the instrument. Sandy, who had watched the entire exchange take place, was busily texting Ana, Nick, and Aster about what was going on at the stage. By the time Jack and Pippa had gotten their mics set up and were ready to start, the entire gang was hiding out in the sound booth, watching with bated breath.

Mrs. Jones played a short intro and then Pippa began, belting out the familiar words:

"_The snow's coming down,_

_I'm watching it fall._

_Lots of people around,_

_Baby, Please come home."_

Now it was Jack's turn. In a sweet, melodic tenor that only shook slightly he sang:

_"The church bells in town,_

_All singing a song._

_Full of happy sounds,_

_Baby, please come home."_

Pippa was elated to find her partner had a good voice and together they rang out the chorus:

_"They're singing deck the halls,_

_But it's not like Christmas at all._

_Cause I remember when you were here,_

_And all the fun we had that year."_

By now the audience had swelled in size as people realized just exactly who was singing. The Bennetts, curious at the commotion and recognizing their daughter's voice had joined the crowd, only to find their little girl singing with the last person they'd ever expected.

_"Pretty lights on the trees,_

_I'm watching them shine,_

_You should be here with me,_

_Baby, please come home."_

As the two harmonized through the second verse tears began to streak down Mrs. Bennett's face. The verse broke into a short guitar break during which Jack reached out and took Pippa's hand's, twirling the giggling little girl around before they started the next chorus:

_"They're singing deck the halls,_

_But it's not like Christmas at all._

_Cause I remember when you were here,_

_And all the fun we had that year."_

Mrs. Bennett was sobbing now as her husband held her close. Neither knew what to do. Mr. Kaufman, who had been watching both the Bennetts and the Frosts during the song, moved through the crowd and came to stand by the couple. He reached over and tapped Mrs. Bennett's shoulder. When she pulled her tear streaked face from Mr. Bennett's chest and faced him he said, "Emily, if you tell them now the most they'll be is upset with you for a few days. If you wait until they're adults, they may resent you for it for the rest of their lives. Why not let your children decide for themselves if they want Jack in their lives?"

_"If there was a way,_

_I'd hold back these tears_

_Boy, it's Christmas day,_

_Baby, please come home."_

Mrs. Bennett gave a tiny nod as the guitar cut off and the duo sang the final verse acapella:

_"They're singing deck the halls,_

_But it's not like Christmas at all._

_Cause I remember when you were here,_

_And all the fun we had that year."_

Jack bowed lightly to Pippa, ready to leave the stage, but stopped short when the girl wrapped him in a tight hug. As Jack knelt down and hugged his baby sister for the first time in seven years, Mrs. Bennett wiped away her lingering tears and headed to the stage. When the hug was over, Jack and Pippa left the stage their parents had made hand in hand, only to find the Bennetts waiting, a nervous looking-Jamie at their side.

As Mrs. Jones' group started to play the notes of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," Mr. Bennett said, "Pippa, dear, we need to talk."

The little girl let go of Jack's hand and went to stand by her adoptive father. Jack felt his elation replaced with fear. What had he been thinking? The Bennetts were never going to let him near the twins again. Instead of leading Jamie and Pippa away from him, though, Mr. Bennett sighed and said, "Jack, I think you should come with us."

That was unexpected. Jack had been planning to gather up the girls, give them to one of the gang, and finding a nice corner to bawl his eyes out in. Now, he didn't know what to do. Aster appeared from nowhere and motioned for Jack to go, saying that he would take care of the girls. Jack nodded nervously and followed the stern-looking Bennetts and the confused twins.

Together, the five of them made their way out of the fair and into the hallway that led to the building's offices.

* * *

"Not good, not good, not good," Ana was nearly hyperventilating. She'd arrived within seconds of Sandy's text and was watching the scene on stage with growing dread. There was no way Jack was going to be able to hold it together for an entire song! What was he doing?

Nick, still in his Santa suit, joined them. When he saw Jack he moaned, "I was hoping this was all a dumb joke. What do we do?"

"Nothing," Aster replied as he stepped into the booth, "We do nothing but wait and be ready to move if things go south."

As Pippa finished the first verse and Jack opened his mouth to sing, the gang held their breaths. When he _started_ to sing, however, their mouths dropped open. Jack could _sing_.

As he and Pippa sang, tears flowed freely in the sound booth. For all the emotions they knew Jack was feeling right then, he wasn't showing anything but happiness.

As the song drew to a close, Mr. Kaufman peeked into the booth. "Kids, one of you needs to go and take care of the gaggle of little girls Jack's been watching, _now_!"

"What's wrong?"

"It is my belief that the Bennetts are going to tell the twins everything."

Aster was out of the booth before the rest of the gang even had time to process the words.

* * *

Jack was standing awkwardly by the door that led back into the fair while the Bennetts sat down and drew a very confused Pippa and Jamie into their laps. Mrs. Bennett had her arms wrapped around her daughter, her face hidden in her hair, her body shaking.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Pippa felt very afraid. Had she done something wrong by singing with the strange boy?

"Pippa, sweetie," her father took her small hand in his right hand and Jamie's in his left, "it's okay, you didn't do anything wrong."

The little girl was relieved, but still concerned. "Why is mommy crying then?"

Mr. Bennett looked at his wife. "Emily, are you okay?"

She nodded into Pippa's hair, unable to speak.

Mr. Bennett sighed and turned to Jack, trying to defuse the growing tension, "Jackson, why don't you sit down, too?"

Slowly, Jack walked forward and sat down, closer to the family, but still far enough away that he was clearly not a part of the group. Mr. Bennett accepted this and turned his gaze back to his children.

"Jamie, Pippa, do you remember what happened when you were five?"

The twins thought about it for a minute before Jamie took a guess, "We were officially adopted, right?"

Mr. Bennett nodded. He and his wife had never hidden the fact that Jamie and Pippa were not their biological children from them. With the Bennett's light blond hair and blue eyes the twins would have had questions anyway, but they had never once talked about it openly. It was more of a secret that everybody knew and nobody mentioned.

"That's right," Mr. Bennett had to stop and swallow the lump in his throat before continuing, "We loved you two so much that we wanted you to be our kids, even if we weren't your birth parents."

The twins were smiling now. The few times they'd asked about their past, this had been all the answer they'd been given. It always made them feel special. Jamie leaned against his father's chest and looked over at Jack, who was busily staring at the floor. He watched as a silver tear cascaded down the older boy's nose and fell to the floor. Wondering what was wrong, he got off of his father's lap and went over to Jack. Sensing the presence nearing him, Jack looked up, revealing watery blue eyes.

Jamie frowned. "Are you okay?"

As Jack nodded his head, another thought occurred. "Wait, daddy. Why did you make him come along, too?"

Mr. Bennett sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose with his free hand, uncertain how to explain to the ten-year-old that the boy before him was his biological brother. Mrs. Bennett was still crying and holding Pippa tight while watching Jack with wary eyes, like he might rip her daughter away from her.

"That's because…" he stopped, lost. What could be possibly say?

"Daddy?" Pippa was speaking now, "Why does he look like Jamie?"

As her father gaped at her and moved his mouth up and down in silence she gave up on him and addressed Jack. "Why do you look like Jamie?"

Jack laughed in desperation, not knowing what to say, and Jamie grinned. "I don't know about him looking like me, but he laughs like you."

Pippa started to retort when the light went on in both of their heads. Jamie and Pippa were bright kids. Jack had been brought along with them to a talk about their birth parents. Jack looked like Jamie. Jack had Pippa's laugh. That could really only mean one thing.

Jamie leaned forward, brown eyes meeting icy blue, and an old memory surfaced. He remembered those eyes. In a halting voice the boy whispered, "I remember you. You're our brother."

The look on Jack's face said it all. Jamie, unsure what else to do, leaned forward and wrapped his tiny arms around the shocked teen as Pippa pushed her mother away and moved to join them. Together, they hugged Jack and he held them both so tight it felt like he'd never let go.


	29. The Fair: Part 3

Jack was enjoying this dream a good deal. He knew that was what had to be going on, because there was no way this was actually happening. No way Jamie had just called him his brother. No way Pippa was in his arms. No way.

"Jack?" Pippa whispered into his ear.

"Hmm?" He replied, not bothering to pull back and look at her. He'd spent far too long looking at her these past seven years. Holding her was a thousand time better.

"Why haven't we seen you before?"

Now Jack did pull back, his hands resting against the twins' shoulders. He looked from them to the Bennetts who had risen to their feet and were watching the Frosts with worried eyes and then back to the twins. They didn't look mad or upset, just curious and uncertain. Jack grinned at them, wanting nothing more than to make them smile. "Well, you may not have seen me, but I've always watched over you."

The twins exchanged a look and Jamie asked, "Really?"

Jack laughed. "Yeah! I've come to every one of your soccer games, Jamie. I probably cheered the loudest when you kicked the winning goal in the title match. And Pippa, I've yet to miss a concert. How do you think I knew your favorite song?"

The twins looked surprised.

Jack rose to his feet, taking their tiny hands in his. "In fact, I even helped plan this whole fair so you two could have some fun, Jack Frost style!"

The twins were smiling now.

"But I didn't do it alone. Do you wanna meet my friends?"

The twins looked back at their parents for approval. Their father nodded while their mother hid her face in his chest, shoulders shaking. "Go ahead. We'll meet up with you when you're ready to go."

Together, the Frost siblings left the hallway and walked into the fair that Jack had spent the last four months making for them.

* * *

"Aster, where Jack?"

Hearing his baby sister's question, Aster sighed and picked her up. Sophie rested against his chest as he rubbed her back, whispering comforting words as the minis looked on. He'd taken charge of Jack's fan club and brought them back to the craft tent with him, but the little girls were all clearly worried about their idol. He'd been gone a long time now and Aster was worried, too. What if the Bennetts had left and Jack was somewhere sobbing his eyes out?

The Australian teen held Sophie close and looked across the fair with mournful eyes, only to find himself staring at Jack Frost walking through the fair hand-in-hand with his siblings. Many people were stopping as the Frosts passed and watching them continue on their way. Practically everyone in the small town knew the basics of the siblings' estrangement, and seeing them together again brought smiles to every face.

Nick, who had been handing out balloons nearby, made his way to join Aster. They were standing side by side when Jack, Jamie, and Pippa joined them.

Jack knelt down by his siblings and pointed to the astonished teens, "Jamie, Pippa, these are my friends."

He pointed to Nick, took in the costume, and grinned, "Santa Claus."

And then he got that mischievous glint in his eyes as he pointed to Aster, "… and the Easter Bunny."

Aster spluttered indignantly, decidedly not okay with being compared to a rabbit, while Nick burst into laughter.

Pippa giggled and Jamie smiled, continuing the joke. "Where's the tooth fairy, then?"

Ana chose that moment to come bursting into the booth through the back. She stopped short at the sight of the Frosts and looked at Jack wide-eyed.

"Perfect timing, Ana," Jack chuckled, winking at her before looking at Jamie and continuing. "That's her."

Both twins were giggling now.

"And who are you then?" Pippa asked.

Jack let go of their hands and stood to his full height, motioning to his outfit in a grand, sweeping gesture. "I told you earlier, didn't I? I'm Jack Frost!"

Aster rolled his eyes. "Hey, snowflake, are you going to introduce them or make jokes all day?"

Jack's lips twisted into a mocking smirk. "Can't I do both?"

He rested his hands on the tops of the twins' heads and smiled at his friends, all of whom looked just a little teary-eyed at the scene. "Guys, this is Jamie and this is Pippa, my little brother and sister."

"You have a sister!" came the cry, as Baby and the other minis piled out from the booth and surrounded Jack.

"Whoa," Jamie cried, stepping back, closer to Jack, at the sudden flood of Ana clones. "What's with all the mini tooth fairies?"

Jack shrugged. "She needs a lot of helpers, that's all."

Aster, having had more than enough of this joke, called the girls back to him. Unwillingly, they obeyed.

"Girls," Aster said sternly, "Jack's going to spend some time with his family, and you're going to stay here and try not to use up all my craft supplies, okay?"

The girls morosely chorused "okay" and took their seats once more. Jack gave Aster a grateful smile and told the twins to lead the way to wherever they wanted to go. Jamie and Pippa nodded happily and began to pull him towards the ice skating rink where they hoped to find Claude and Amber.

Aster and the gang watched them leave, smiling, but the smile disappeared from Aster's face as Pippa chipped, "I never pictured the Easter Bunny as an Australian."

Jack, Ana, and Nick's laughter echoed through the fair as Aster stomped back into the booth, scowling at his new nickname.

* * *

"Your brother is so cool, like a prince!" Amber whispered to Pippa as the two girls stepped onto the ice. Jack was still lacing up his own skates and had told them to go ahead and get started without him. Claude and Jamie had rushed ahead, leaving the two girls in the dust. They didn't mind – they had things to talk about. The four of them and Jack were the only people in the ice rink at the moment since there was currently a magician performing at the stage. Amber didn't like magic much, and Claude was tired of sitting, so they'd skipped out and come here instead.

"I know! I still can't believe I have an older brother." Pippa was watching Jack as she said this. The frosty-eyed teen was looking back at her and smiling as he pulled on his skates. "But it's really fun to have him around."

"Isn't it awkward? I wouldn't know how to act around him." Amber made this comment so quietly, Pippa could barely hear it.

She shook her head and whispered back, "No, it's really easy! I would have thought it'd be hard, but it isn't. He's just too fun to let anything be awkward."

Amber made an appreciative noise and watched as Jack stood up and walked to the ice.

Jack looked at his siblings and thought about it for just a moment before deciding if there was ever a time to show off, it was now. He flew across the ice, past a startled Pippa and Amber, and leapt into the air, performing a simple rotation while keeping an eye out for the racing boys.

When he landed he skated back over to the girls, appreciating the looks of wonder plastered on both faces. "Bet you didn't know I could do that!"

"That was wicked!" Claude announced, skating to a stop by Jack while Jamie skated to Pippa's side.

"Totally wicked," the male twin agreed, beaming. "I bet _your_ brother can't do that, Claude."

Jack laughed and skated away backwards. "Wanna see another trick?"

Jack did a whole routine for the kids, ending only when he noticed his growing audience in the stands beyond. Blushing, but grinning at the applause that the end of his performance conjured, he rejoined the twins and allowed them to lead him back into the fair for some well-deserved hot chocolate, his routine netting him the place of "coolest big brother, ever."

* * *

The last two hours of the fair had been a heady rush for Jack. He'd allowed Jamie and Pippa to lead him wherever they wanted, and they'd taken full advantage of the chance to show off their new big brother. He'd met many of their friends, who were shocked to find out the twins had a brother, and their teachers, who were shocked to find out the twins _knew _they had a brother. As the fair drew to a close, though, Jack realized he'd better get them back to their parents.

They found the Bennetts standing near the fair's exit, waiting.

Jack knelt down to the twin's height and smiled at them. "I had a great day! How about you?"

They nodded, looking sad as they realized this was goodbye.

"You'll stop hiding from us now, right?" Pippa asked, her chocolate-brown eyes wide with hope.

Jack laughed and nodded. "Duh! I'm never letting you two go again!"

He pulled them close, wiping the frowns away, making them giggle with his antics. When he let them go he said, "Your parents have my number. You can call me any time, okay?"

The twins nodded and hugged Jack one last time before saying goodbye and rushing to stand with their waiting, wary-eyed parents.

Jack waved after them as they left the fair, smiling ear to ear. He didn't know what lay ahead for him and his siblings, but he'd treasure these last few hours for the rest of his life.

* * *

"All done!" Ana cried as the gang laid the final piece, the stage, against the floor in the storage room. The volunteers were gone, the rented pieces had been returned, and the gang was now finished taking the set pieces back to their resting place.

Nick let out a whoop of elation while Sandy clapped lightly. Aster just smiled and turned to look at Jack.

"Really, that's it?" Jack questioned.

Ana nodded, "Yep, we can go home now!"

"Oh," suddenly tears were pooling in Jack's eyes. The others stopped their mini celebration to watch him worriedly. Seeing their gazes trained on him he adopted a puzzled expression while the first tear streaked down his face. When it landed on his hand he reached up, looking surprised, and brushed thin, pale fingers along his wet cheek, "Hey, look at that I'm crying!"

He started to laugh and the tears grew stronger, soaking his face. No longer able to stand, he turned around and sat down on the stage they'd just carried, hiding his face in his hands. He was laughing, sobbing, and shaking now, the day's emotions finally catching up.

Ana reacted first, starting to push the other boys out of the room, but Aster resisted. Instead, the Australian teen walked over to Jack and pulled him to his feet.

"Come on, mate, you've gotta be starving. I didn't see you eat a thing all day."

Jack smiled, and wiped away the tears before whispering, "They saw me, Aster."

Asted grinned back at him. "Hey, guess what, I can see you too, Frosty."

Jack blinked in surprise and started to laugh, willingly following Aster out of the room to where the rest of the gang was waiting. Together, the five of them climbed the stairs out of the basement and left the rec center, laughing at arguing over what restaurant they should go to in order to celebrate this amazing day.


	30. Epilog and Authors Final Comments

The doorbell rings and two children rush to answer, grinning. They know who is here. Outside, in the frosty air, waits their brother. His winter white-hair is blowing in a faint breeze and his pale skin is flushed from the winter's chill, but his blue eyes are bright with excitement.

"Ready to go?"

Nods are the only reply as tiny feet rush to grab shoes and jackets. Their mother comes from the kitchen to see them off and gives the boy who is taking them from her a small smile. One day, in the distant future, he will be welcome with the warmest of hugs, but that day will not come for many years. For now, just being able to enter her house is enough.

He returns the smile and gives her a small wave before excited hands drag him outside. Hand-in-hand, the trio walks down the sidewalks of the small town, smiling and greeting everyone they see. All three children are known and welcome here.

They reach an intersection and turn to the right, leaving the crowded streets for ones less busy. Soon they are standing outside of a low, gray building. The big brother rushes them inside to where an old man is waiting.

The man greets them warmly and guides them through the building to where an uninhabited ice rink waits. The children buckle on skates and the big brother makes sure they are well fastened. Then, together, the children of Nathaniel and Emma Frost skate out onto the ice, laughing, the first people to touch the rink.

* * *

Final Author's Note: This is it gang, time to say goodbye to this little fic of mine. When I finish a piece I normally like to add some notes about why I wrote the story and where the idea came from for the few people who'd like to know those things so here it goes:

I love high school AU and I read the three or four that were around when I started this story, but none of them fit what I was looking for. Mostly because none of them had a plot where Jack had a sister/brother who was still alive. It seemed like everyone had just gone with the "someone needs to die in a pond" idea and stuck that role on poor Pippa. So I got the idea of, what if Jack and Pippa were merely separated? When I wrote chapter one it was with the idea of Jack having a single sibling (who knew he existed) but never got to see him. Then I sat down to write out the backstory for Jack. In doing this I wrote a scene that never made it into the final story and I still don't know what inspired me to write it as I did, but I loved the idea it gave me. In this scene, the gang originally saw Jack's sibling and recognized her somehow, but she didn't acknowledge Jack. This lead Jack to admit he was "invisible" to her, meaning she didn't know who he was. A lot of his lines from that original scene were tweaked into the Overland's dialog from chapter six and the rest is history.

I also believe AU should never make a character majorly OOC otherwise it's not as fun. I'm pretty pleased with how well the gang came across and I may have made Pitch a bit too psycho, but I'm okay with that. Jack, though, was hard. It's interesting to write a character who had this very heavy and dark past constantly weighting on them, but is also fun loving and free. Jack being suicidal or a cutter was not going to work, but neither was a constant fun and no depth Jack. That's why he is only openly sad when alone or with the Guardian character once he considers them friends. You can be the judge of if I got him right, I think I did.

Now that this is over I'm possibly going to go back and edit the piece up a bit. What I have posted now is, quite literally, the rough draft of this story. I wrote each chapter, read it once to make sure there were no glaring errors, and posted it. This means there are some minor tweaks I'd like to make and some dialog that needs edited up. However, I've got a lot of other things I want to write so no promises about that one. Thanks for coming along with me and for reading this mini rant. It's been a blast messing with your emotions. (Btw, I just wrote 60,000+ words in less than a month O.o) ~Miki


	31. Apendix III: Complete Timeline

Time Line For Whole Story

2005

October 21st – Frost's Die, Children in hospital

October 23th – Social Services places Jamie and Pippa

October 24th – Jack goes to Overlands

November 6th – Jack starts living again

November 14th – Jack Starts School again

2006

January 15th – Jack gives up twins

January 16th – Jack tell Pitch everything

2012

September 3rd – classes start

September 4th – Mr. Moon tells gang they need to invite Jack to join

September 5th – Jack joins

September 7th – Jack meets the minis

September 8th – trip to Burgess

September 15th – cleaning out the closet

September 22nd – Jamie's Game, Big reveal, Tree Picking, Pitch makes his move

September 24th – Jack gets a phone

September 27th – Jack sits with the gang at lunch

September 28th – Work begins on making booths

October 1st – Halloween discussion, Aster begins to paint booths

October 17th – Pitch remembers

October 21st – Death Anniversary, Pitch Strikes, Jack Found

October 22nd – Pitch found

October 25th – Jack awakens

October 26th – Pitch tells his story

October 29th – Jack and Pitch released, Jack talks to parents

October 30th – Jack Returns to School

October 31st – Halloween/Jack tells Aster his past

November 1st – Pitch Returns to School

November 2nd – Pitch joins the gang (oh no!)

November 3rd – Taking booths to Burgess/North learns of Jack's past

November 5th – Talking to Mr. Moon about Donation

November 10th – Pitch's first time at Nick's/Pitch's new car arrives

November 21st – Pippa gets solo

November 26th – Cast comes off, brace goes on/Jack learns of Pippa's concert

November 27th – Pitch learns of Pippa's concert

December 5th – Brace comes off

December 8th – Final booths taken over

December 9th

- Sunset ~ 4pm in Maine (checked online!)

- Pippa's Concert – 5pm

- Fire – 6:15pm

- Fire trucks arrive – 6:30pm

- Jack's prints taken – 7:45pm

- Gang Called – 8pm

- Overlands arrive at hospital – 8:15pm

- Gang learns about fire – 9:15pm

- Jack remembers – 10:30pm

- Aster called by Jack - 11:00pm

December 10th

- Gang finds Motorcycle – 1am

- Pitch arrested – 4am

- Mr. Kaufman Gives Jack Key – 8am

- Gang Arrives – 8:30am

- Jack leaves hospital – 10:00am

- Room Opened – 10:30am

- Repainting Starts – 1:00pm

December 13th – Jack's 18th birthday

December 15th – Christmas Fair

- fair starts - 11am

- Jack dragged out - noon

- Twins arrive - 12:30pm

- Jack's story - 3pm

- Jack and Pippa sing - 4pm


	32. Apendix IV: Character Bios

Character Bios Time! Let me know if you want anything added to these. Also, if you want to see my badly drawn pictures for Aster, Ana, and Sandy check out my deviant art: LadyFey101.

* * *

Jackson Nathaniel Frost (aka Jack)

Height: 5'10"

Eyes: Ice Blue

Hair: Winter White, cut in the same style as in the movie

Skin tone: Very pale

Favorite Color: Most shades of blue

Normal Outfit: Jack tends to wear an assortment of ratty old jeans, neutral colored t-shirts, and some form of jacket (more often than not a hoodie)

Favorite Sport: Ice skating

Birthday: December 13th 1994

* * *

Emerson Aster Bunnymund (aka Aster)

Height: 6'1"

Eyes: spring-green

Hair: chin length, caramel brown, styled in a surfer-boy like cut

Skin tone: Tan

Favorite Color: Most shades of green

Normal Outfit: Aster is normally seen sporting a paint splattered t-shirt and faded jeans with a rolled up bandanna in his hair (like a hairband)

Favorite Sport: Frisbee/Running

Birthday: March 21th 1995 (spring equinox that year)

Fun Fact: You can tell Aster's nervous/uncomfortable because he'll run his hand through his hair by placing the hand on his bandanna and stroking the hair behind it

* * *

Ana Romoli

Height: 5'6"

Eyes: violet

Hair: just a bit longer than shoulder length blonde hair with a streak of blue on the right side of her face and a streak of green on the left. She normally wears the un-dyed part in a high ponytail and leaves the dyed streaks hanging down to frame her face

Skin tone: Normal Caucasian

Favorite Color: Pretty much anything but orange and puce

Normal Outfit: Ana loves slightly baggy, hip hop style jeans and is normally found wearing a some form of brightly colored cami with half poncho over top (like a pair of wings). She owns a few of these, but her favorites are a shimmering pink one that she wears with blue or purple camis and a blue/green tie-dye one that she thinks looks like a peacock's feathers. This one is worn with a blue, green, or black cami. She normally wears black boots with a slight, chunky heel.

Favorite Sport: Dancing

Birthday: May 3rd 1995

* * *

Nicholas North (aka Nick)

Height: 6'2"

Eyes: Bright blue

Hair: chocolate colored hair that he keeps cut just long enough it can't be called a buzz cut. Nick's hair grows pretty fast, so he normally has a trace of 5-o'clock shadow, but he tries to stay clean shaven

Skin tone: Normal Caucasian

Favorite Color: Green and Red

Normal Outfit: Nick normally wears jeans and a nice, button down shirt with the top two buttons left open. These shirts are all patterned wita lumberjack-style checkering and are normally green, red, or blue.

Favorite Sport: Weight lifting

Birthday: July 25th 1995

* * *

Sanderson Mansnoozie (aka Sandy)

Height: 5'4"

Eyes: golden-brown, but more gold than brown

Hair: a rich, gold-ish blond that he lets hang free around his shoulders

Skin tone: Bronze

Favorite Color: Gold

Normal Outfit: Sandy is a sharp dresser. He normally wears formal, black pants and a light colored dress shirt, occationally with a nice jacket over top.

Favorite Sport: Golf or anything that involves a lot of walking and time to think

Birthday: August 17th 1994

* * *

Pitchford Black (aka Pitch)

Height: 6'

Eyes: dark amber/black

Hair: ebony black hair that he keeps perfectly styled as seen in the movie

Skin tone: Pale

Favorite Color: This implies he gives thought to such trivial things, but black if he much choose

Normal Outfit: Pitch only wears high-quality, formal black pants; a black or gray polo shirts and either a long, black trench coat or a black, leather jacket. Everything he wears is very tight and form fitting.

Favorite Sport: He doesn't waste time with such things

Birthday: September 13th 1994


End file.
